Marc Jacobs showcases Louis Vuitton's savoir faire Kate Moss at the autumn-winter 2013-14 ready-to-wear show. A private order Louis Vuitton handbag being made. MARC Jacobs's erotically charged autumn collection for Louis Vuitton had beautiful creatures bedroom hopping in a grand hotel setting, wearing little more than silken scanties and cashmere sweaters under long tweed coats. Through open doors were glimpsed expensively large Louis Vuitton trunks and a silent film of a man dressing after their love tryst. As these ladies made their hasty departure in their wispy boudoir lingerie, they made sure they had their precious Vuitton handbags clutched in their arms. Jacobs upped the amps this season on three of the iconic bag shapes of the luxury brand for the catwalk - the Pochette, the Speedy, all fluffy and tactile in bright fur, and the Lockit - because he really wanted to showcase the savoir faire of the ateliers. The Lockit happens to be one of the five styles that feature in the private-order haute maroquinerie collection, which is made in Asnieres at the heart of Louis Vuitton's operation and its heritage. Here in this northern Paris suburb is the former home of the Vuitton family (an art nouveau-designed mansion bought by Georges, son of Louis Vuitton, in 1892). In the grounds are the workshops where the famous trunks, the bespoke luggage and the haute maroquinerie collection are made. On the catwalk Jacobs presented a supple Lockit bag, folded over and clutched in the hand, made from soft crocodile and fine napa leather. In the special order collection the Lockit, the Triangle and the Noe can be crafted in the client's chosen colour (there are 26 on their colour palette) and in a range of leathers, depending on what is suitable for the style of the bag. Each of the materials is meticulously stored in a large stockroom at Asnieres and overseen by specialists who grade the leather, whether it be cow, lamb, goat or calf, for thickness, elasticity and faults. Some leathers are so fragile before they are worked that they are handled with white gloves. The Lockit was created in 1958 and derived from the early steamer bag, which had the far from glamorous purpose of being a laundry bag that you rolled up in your trunk. The modern-day version is infinitely more sophisticated and is constructed from three pieces of leather (back, front and bottom). Its unmistakable curved lines and restrained detail are designed to highlight the beauty of the leather, and it features the full Louis Vuitton signature on the padlock rather than simply the initials. At the Maison in Sydney - one of only a handful of Maisons around the world to offer the haute maroquinerie service - iPads illustrate the leather, colour and size options and hardware available to order. Prices start at $5000. It can take six months for non-exotic skin bags to be made and a year for a crocodile one because it is so difficult to source skins of such high quality. Only the centre of the belly, the best part of the crocodile, is used for the front and back of a bag and there is a size limit to the bag, especially if you are looking for the Noe or Lockit styles. The Noe is a drawstring style derived from a bag designed rather decadently in 1932 to transport five bottles of champagne. In its present version it is an easy, elegant style to sling over your shoulder. Just a few other designs have been added to the special-order collection, such as the Milaris, which can be made in classic box leather, or a sumptuous matt crocodile, which is restricted to a palette of 16 colours. It can take about 12 hours to make the classic Steamer bag and one of the specialists that made them has just retired after 44 years with the company. The average time these skilled craftspeople spend with Vuitton is 22 years, each an expert in a different skill, which means there is huge preserved knowledge to be found in the ateliers. Sometimes Patrick Louis Vuitton can be spotted in the bespoke orders workshops at Asnieres. Each generation's rite of passage into the company has been to make one of those trunks from scratch. Patrick Louis Vuitton (who looks remarkably like his great-grandfather, Louis) was 16 when his grandmother sent him to the workshop to learn how to build a trunk. His son Pierre, similarly, has learned the skill, while his other son, Benoit, is more at home in Vuitton's watch workshops. Although Louis Vuitton merged with Moet-Hennessy in 1987 with Bernard Arnault as president, the family gives continuity and historical integrity to the brand. Patrick Louis Vuitton is not involved in making those must-have bags but his expertise in making those famous trunks and special orders, historically the backbone of the business, means that Louis Vuitton still represents unbeatable quality and heirloom status. Around the modern, brightly lit workshops there are some extraordinary pieces of luggage being assembled. Violin and guitar cases are not unusual but there is a trunk for a client in Taiwan that has a solar panel and batteries so the owner can make a cup of coffee, send emails and listen to music wherever he travels. Another was made for a client in Malaysia to hold a PlayStation. Damien Hirst helped Patrick Louis Vuitton design a pair of trunks for the 150th anniversary - one printed with butterflies - while Scott Campbell, the tattoo artist who has left his mark on Marc Jacobs's flesh, is the proud owner of a Tattoo Box covered in Monogram Macassar canvas with drawers for his needles and ink bottles. It could take anything from eight months to a year to make a small trunk with drawers for make-up and accessories. Given this length of time, maybe those decadently clad ladies in their mink coats and pyjamas in the Vuitton show should have thought twice before leaving their trunks.