Patrick-Louis Vuitton has been the house’s special-order supremo since 1975. This recent assignment – one of 450 per year for the special-order team at the Asnieres atelier – was a reminder of his very first malle (trunk), a 1.10-metre-high, 45-centimetre-wide case for a hi-fi unit with an old-fashioned cassette player and turntable.

Louis Vuitton’s historic special made-to-order service is comfortably attuned to the modern techno age. One client – none other than Karl Lagerfeld of rival brand Chanel – turned to Patrick-Louis for an iPod-carrying trunk of black Taiga leather with trademark brass fittings and a red interior. For 40 iPods. Just what does Karl do with all those earphones?

Master craftsman Patrick-Louis has to draw the line in more ways than one; he has mastered the art of saying “Non”. He gives an example from the early 1990s: “One day a lady came to the Tokyo store with a collection of porcelain bowls. A rendezvous had been arranged so we could design a trunk for the bowls. She was dressed in a kimono and had brought her two assistants, but I had to tell her – one of the store’s biggest clients – I couldn’t agree to a sale. The sticking point came when we were discussing handles. She didn’t want any. I realised all she wanted was a piece of furniture for her kitchen.”