Repairs
Louis Vuitton Neverfull Monogram — natural cowhide trim replaced
Louis Vuitton · Leather replacement
These are not dye jobs. Where leather was replaced, the new part can look lighter than before — that is new leather, not leather dyed lighter.
The record
01Condition on arrival
The cowhide on the handles and the top edge was stained, hardened and cracked
02Main steps
- Removing the old cowhide
- cutting new cowhide and finishing the edges
- stitching
- adjusting the tone
03About the work
The Monogram Neverfull uses untreated natural cowhide on the handles, the top edge and the side laces. On this bag those parts had been stained by water and handling and had hardened, cracking in places along the top edge and the handles.
Once cowhide is stained, the marks do not wipe out, so the handles, the top edge and the laces were all removed and replaced with new cowhide. The edges were finished and the pieces stitched back on the original seam lines.
New cowhide is a pale, raw colour, so it was given a light tone close to the honey colour of naturally aged cowhide, to sit well with the Monogram canvas.
