Philippe Cassegrain took over Longchamp in 1972 and created Le Pliage

Longchamp began in 1948 when Jean Cassegrain, a Paris tobacconist, started covering pipes in leather and stamping them with the Longchamp name. The pipe business had depended on American GIs after the war, and the family expanded into leather goods in the 1950s to find a more durable market.

Jean Cassegrain died in 1972, and his son Philippe took over the company. He pushed exports to Asia — opening the first Hong Kong boutique in 1979 — and moved into luggage and handbags, innovating with the military nylon fabric that made bags lighter and easier to carry.

In 1993 Philippe designed Le Pliage, a foldable nylon tote inspired by Japanese origami. It became one of the best-selling handbags in the world, with more than 30 million sold by 2020, and Longchamp remained a family business run by the second and third generations.

Le Pliage, launched in 1993, became one of the world's best-selling handbags, with more than 30 million sold; Longchamp stayed family-owned into the third generation.

The pipe business was tied to a shrinking customer base, so leather goods were the future.

Philippe used technical nylon to make luggage lighter — a functional edge over traditional luxury.

Exporting to Asia early gave Longchamp a global footprint before most French houses.

When a family firm's original market fades, the next generation can reinvent the company — a Paris pipe maker turned nylon luggage into a global leather-goods house.

Philippe Cassegrain ran Longchamp for nearly five decades, handing day-to-day leadership to his children in his later years while keeping the title of president until his death in November 2020. The family kept ownership and continued making most products in French factories.