Important Makers - Goyard
Although the brand with its current name was founded in 1853, the firm was active since 1792 under the name of Maison Martin, from the name of the original establisher Pierre-François Martin. As one of the first ads specified
“Maison Martin sells an assortment of boxes and cases; it provides quality packing services for fragile furniture and objects, as well as hats, gowns and flowers; it uses oiled canvas, plain canvas and straw for packing; manufacturer of horse carriage trunks and coat racks, it also supplies oilcloth and waterproof canvas, all at a fair price."
The firm soon became quite popular and was granted the title of official purveyor of the Duchess of Berry. In 1834 the company moved to its current address in rue Saint-Honoré, Paris.
Martin took one of his employees, Luis-Henri Morel, under his wing and, when he married his foster daughter, Morel received the control of the business as her dowry. In 1845 Morel and Martin employed François Goyard as an apprentice. When Morel suddenly died, in 1852, Goyard took over the business and renamed the company to its current name, Goyard. Soon the brand’s popularity grew internationally, new accessories started to be produced and the celebrated ‘Goyard’s canvas’ was created.
In 1885 François retired, leaving the company to his son, Edmond. Starting with the Exposition Universelle of Paris in 1900, where the firm earned a bronze medal, Goyard participated in several World Exhibitions winning a number of prizes. In 1908, at the Franco-British exhibition in London, the brand won a gold medal competing against Louis Vuitton. The brand became iconic and a favourite with the main European royal families and aristocracy: Pablo Picasso, John D. Rockefeller, Coco Chanel, the Romanovs and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were just some of the firm’s clients.
The company remained within the Goyard family until 1998, when it was bought by Jean-Michel Signoles.
It is quite remarkable to notice how the brand became - and still is nowadays - an icon of style appreciated by high society and celebrities, without investing in advertising, avoiding public interviews and maintaining a certain amount of secrecy. The high degree of personalisation of every product is also due to the fact that the brand still maintains the same artisanal methods of production, preserving the same level of exclusivity that has always been one of the main characteristics of this firm.
