hello I'm Hamish Bowles international
editor-at-large of American bone and I'm
here to tell you everything you need to
know about the it bag you are either it
who you are not the stateís bag has long
been in existence from the Hermes Kelly
a practical structured classic that was
subsequently named for Grace Kelly who
used hers to hide her baby bump and that
has proved enduringly popular to
Chanel's quilting in Gucci's bamboo
handled number a bag born out of
post-war shortages that went on to make
a worldwide splash on the armor Ingrid
Bergman but in the 90s the concept of
the it bag was reborn there was a
perfect storm
an ideal set of conditions let's begin
with the Dior bag initially called Shu
Shu that debuted in 1995 each bag was
handmade from the charms to the Dior
letters 140 separate pieces the bag
truly gained popularity when it was
given to Diana Princess of Wales by
Frances first lady
Bernadette she hug Diana was the most
photographed woman in the world and so
the shoe shoe became the most
photographed bag
in 1996 Dior renamed the bag in honor of
Diana the Lady Dior fast on its heels in
1997 came the Fendi baguette the little
bag sat under your arm like the French
carry their loaves its restrained slim
shape was offset by a dizzying array of
colors and materials
from plane to beaded sequin to exotic it
was in stark contrast to the minimalist
designs popular around this time and
made the bags infinitely collectible and
it didn't hurt that it made a memorable
appearance on the arm of a trend-setting
TV character it's a bag with the
creation of the baguette Fendi proposed
a completely different type of bag to
the one that had dominated the market
for years the Prada nylon backpack that
debuted in 1984 here functionality took
a backseat to exclusivity possessing it
was now more important than using it it
generated waiting lists at big
department stores which in turn created
bars about the bag this was an idea that
spread through the 90s the wait list
something not always completely organic
the rise in power of designers is
another sea change in the 90s designers
had gone from small family or
individually owned houses to becoming
star attractions at major corporations
at the turn of the 90s John Galliano was
couch surfing in Paris designing what he
could with what he had before being
hired as the creative director of
Shivaji in 1995 and a year later a
creative director of Dior there he found
the infrastructure he needed to design
fashion on a global scale marketing mass
production worldwide distribution and
with those tools he created an icon the
unconventionally shaped your saddlebag
debuted on the runway and Galliano's
spring/summer two thousand election for
the house unlike other bags meant to be
worn in the crook of the courier's arm
the saddlebag with short straps and
kidney shape fit snug under the arm
celebrities were drawn to the bag and
photos of them carrying it spread around
the world
and of course another Carrie Bradshaw
endorsement up the bags profile
Balenciaga is lariat aka City bag a key
a motorcycle bag is the it bag that
almost didn't get produced in 2001
balanced yoga designer Nikhil Agastya
crafted a prototype of a bag that seemed
simple just hardware and luxury leather
but it was unlike other bags of the era
for a number of reasons
at the time luxury leathers most common
use was in a fixed rigid structure but
the moto bag was soft and flexible yet
another notable difference from bags at
the time there was no logo after Kate
Moss and several other models spawned
over the prototype in his studio guests
gear famously decided to go ahead and
produce 25 more gifted them to Mars and
her fellow models and the powers that be
were finally convinced and the
motorcycle bag went on to be an enduring
bestseller but for all the sensational
bags being produced many fell short at
becoming it bags designers had to
constantly innovate to stay ahead of the
crowd Marc Jacobs then at new every tour
took things one step further to make
sure his bags stood out collaborating
with major artists first with Stevens
brows and the graffiti bag then in a
partnership with the artists takashi
murakami he recreated the classic LV
monogram in 33 colors on a black or
white background jacobs allowed murakami
even more save and sprouse in the
ultimate design giving the artist
explicit permission to subvert the brand
guidelines Jakob described the bag as a
monumental marriage of art and commerce
and Murakami's work became one of the
most in-demand accessories on the market
by this time you couldn't open a
magazine without seeing a celebrity
flaunting and hit back
for a long time models were looked at as
the purveyors of fashion trends but
somewhere around the 90s celebrities
began taking models places on women's
magazine covers but more than that it
was a time when the internet was
bringing celebrity style to our daily
attention and e-commerce eventually made
buying their looks easy and convenient
but not cheap Phoebe Philo designer at
Chloe observed all this and took it to
the next level instead of releasing a
bag and hoping celebrities and the
limelight would be drawn to it the Chloe
Paddington's strategically gifted to
celebrities who couldn't step outside of
the house lanes photographed instantly
recognizable for its logo padlock it
rapidly claimed cult status in 2005
Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld took a
very different approach instead of
starting from scratch
he created a reissue of the very popular
quilted chain handled flat bag
originally designed by Coco Chanel for
her February 1955 ode couture collection
creating exact replicas of the 50 year
old iconic bag was risky but paid off
the reimagined classic proved to be an
immense success with a whole new
generation but perhaps what Lagerfeld
most notably achieved here was opening
the eyes of the big brands to the power
of nostalgia and legacy today it's
exponentially harder for one bag to
dominate a season and rise to the it bag
status there are faster cycles in
fashion now for one thing and even
concurrent fads with a dynamic new
generation of creative directors at the
helm of legacy brands Alessandra
McCauley at Gucci demeanor vasoya at
balance yoga JW Anderson at Nueve and
Daniel Lee Bottega Veneta to name but a
few all hard at work reimagining
historic classics and creating new
must-haves the next it bag could be
coming from anywhere
at anytime
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