If the Balenciaga show was any indication, there seemed to be fewer accessories on show in the fall/winter 2007-2008 collections. All models had their hands free, without a single bag in sight. Was this for real? The clothes were shown to best advantage without the distraction of a bag but what will retailers sell and what will bag fiends buy? Has the season of the “It Bag” finally come to a close or are fashion houses just more protective against style pirates and counterfeiters? Before retailers and bag addicts could go into cardiac arrest, everyone was assured that the bags were in the showroom for private viewing. At Louis Vuitton it was business as usual with all the bags one could possibly want to own on show; after all, the theme was “The Girl with a Monogrammed Handbag.”
BAGS
But we know old habits die hard and you’re dying of anticipation, so let’s start with the lust-have bags for the coming season. Oversized bags and rigid ergonomic boxes contrast with delicately held clutch bags and envelope pouches folded under the arm. Form has really given in to function with big totes, which are really convenient to carry a lot of things around, not to mention that it can give the illusion you’re skinny compared to the bag. Huge, soft hobos in black nylon and leather were chic at Marni and had a handy, cognac leather shopper version at Dsquared2. At D&G they were bold and shiny in bright red or black and white patent. Medium-sized handbags tend to be structured or have some kind of frame. They were embellished with shearling contrasting with shiny patent at Louis Vuitton and feathered as a voodoo bag at Fendi. At Gucci, the Indy bag being touted as an “It Bag” has a unique steering wheel-like handle and oversized tassels. Balenciaga had a red leather-covered lunchbox with a long-shouldered handle, in keeping with Ghesquiere’s boarding room-blazer theme on the runway. When bags were soft and unstructured, they would be folded into a clutch. Louis Vuitton’s version was in quilted leather with a nylon safety belt handle. The clutch was easiest to hold at Jil Sander with a cut-out slash to insert the hand; and at Prada where you can also insert your hand into a bow-strap. At Burberry, they were tough in patent gunmetal with studs. For evening, there were elegant box clutches and minaudieres: they came lacquered in scarlet, yellow and green at Fendi and wood-veneered in an Art Deco pattern at Pucci.