Forget Louis Vuitton and Hermes - this luxury brand is the status symbol for the world's richest people

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Goyard is the pinnacle of indulgence.

• Louis Vuitton and Hermès are well-known for their luxurious prestige, but they've got nothing Goyard, a 200-hundred year old Parisian brand.
• The House of Goyard has built its business based on discretion, creating an elusiveness that makes it the ultimate status symbol for rich people.
• Meghan Markle, the Kardashians, and Gwyneth Paltrow have been spotted with Goyard products.
• Prices for Goyard's luxury goods range from $300 to $59,315.

Louis Vuitton and Hermès, who?

These iconic luxury brands may have a well-established prestige, but in the world of the elite, they've got nothing on Goyard.

The name of this two-century-old Parisian brand may not ring a bell the way other luxury fashion houses do, but Goyard's elusiveness is exactly what makes it the ultimate status symbol among the world's wealthiest people.

Goyard's prime press strategy is silence. It forgoes any advertising, e-commerce, and celebrity endorsements; rarely grants any interviews; and very occasionally makes products available to the mass market.

Turns out, a lips-are-sealed tactic is the best way to build their buzz.

"Luxury is a dream, and revealing too much of what goes on behind the scenes would spoil the magic," the House of Goyard told Hypebeast in 2017. "We believe that whispering softly in someone's ears is not only more elegant, but also much more efficient than screaming at the top of one's lungs."

Its mystery demands desire. Everyone loves a sense of exclusivity, and what's more exclusive than a brand whose heritage and allure is based on discretion, garnering its business solely through the word-of-mouth of its influential clients?

As Sarah Young of The Independent writes of their anti-spotlight stance, "Those who know, know. For them, it's all about attracting the people who count."

After all, high-end brands risk losing their luster and jeopardizing their exclusivity if they fall into the everyday hands of mass consumption. Goyard's under-the-radar reputation is the pinnacle of ultimate indulgence for its buyers.

Rich and famous clientele

The coveted chevron-printed canvas and leather luggage has been seen accompanying everyone from the newly named Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, and actress Gwyneth Paltrow to Michelin-starred Chef lain Ducasse, who has a custom trunk for his cutlery.

Goyard has also become increasingly popular among hip-hop's elite, such as rapper A$AP Rocky, who wore a Goyard messenger bag to the Grammy Awards, and Kanye West, who sported a Goyard briefcase during Paris Fashion Week in 2009.

And the apple doesn't fall far from the tree - West's toddler daughter, North, was spotted in LA with her own personalized Goyard St. Louis bag, retailing for roughly $1,459 after customization. Meanwhile, her aunt Khloe jetted off to Tokyo for a babymoon in February with her belongings packed in not one, but two customized Goyard bags.

They succeed an impressively historical list of clients including Coco Chanel, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jacques Cartier, Pablo Picasso, Karl Lagerfeld, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, who collected many Goyard pieces ranging from pet accessories to a commissioned trunk to accommodate 150 pairs of shoes.

Goyard's current owner, Jean-Michel Signoles, purchased much of their collection when Sotheby's auctioned off the contents of the Duke and Duchess' Paris home. A document case and monogrammed trunk went for nearly $15,000, while another lot sold for $32,500, reports Town & Country.

That's nothing compared to one of Goyard's 19th-century-style trunks fetching for $59,315, according to the Business of Fashion. The Palace trunk runs for $10,120, with additional customization beginning at $165.

But not all of its prices are so far-fetched for such an exclusive brand, from the entry-level $300 Saint Sulpice card holder to the $2,430 Grand Bleu messenger bag. And a classic Goyard tote runs for $1,150, while a comparable Louis Vuitton is $1,810.

It's 'all about traveling, distant horizons, escapism'

Goyard's focus on artisanal craftsmanship prevents them from churning out the bountiful merchandise that Louis Vuitton does, which arguably helps them hold a higher sense of quality and prestige compared to their competitor.

And because it's like an heirloom, the brand holds resale value, Rati Levesque, chief merchant of luxury resale site The Real Real told Racked. "It's an insider's bag, but it doesn't scream luxury."

Goyard's serious collectors prefer individual, custom pieces over the brand's more discernible items, such as the St. Louis tote and a Saigon handbag.

Every order is the result of a "close creative collaboration between the customer and Goyard," and the limits are endless, the House of Goyard told Town & Country.

Ever authentic, though, the company leaves special orders up to its discretion, eschewing any requests that aren't considered on brand - even if it's one helmed by a recognizable name.

"We turned down several orders for custom trunks for giant TV screens for instance," the fashion house told Town & Country. "Goyard is all about traveling, distant horizons, escapism, so a TV trunk by Goyard really sounded like an oxymoron."

A bespoke Gardening Trunk, on the other hand, was deemed whimsical, timeless, practical, and functional - something that "truly captures the essence of Goyard." Commissioned in 2015, it cost roughly $15,000.

The brand is so elusive that even historic special orders aren't known to the company itself: "Finding a rare trunk is an extremely complicated hunt, requiring near private investigator's skills… and a lot of patience."

As Deborah Soss, Bergdorf Goodman's vice president of accessories and handbags, put it to Racked, "I think there is always an allure to a bit of mystery."