Incredible Women. Incredible Fashion. Every Day.

Porter
Art of Style

The history of the handbag: practical, party and the cult It-buys

Clockwise from top left: bags by Cartier; Paco Rabanne; Versace, Fendi; Chloé; Anya Hindmarch; Bottega Veneta; Off-White; Alexander McQueen; Gabriela Hearst; Loewe x William Morris; Gucci x Trouble Andrew; Balenciaga

From Fendi’s ‘Baguette’ to Bottega Veneta’s ‘Cassette’, the V&A Museum’s new Bags: Inside Out exhibition is a treasure trove of arm candy from across the ages. By GRACE COOK

Illustration Meriç Canatan
Fashion

Our handbags are unquestionably one of the most personal items in our wardrobe. We choose them not just for their polish but their practicality; in them, we keep our most valuable everyday possessions that enable us to get through each day, from our purses and cell phones to notebooks, lipsticks, hand creams and all manner of miscellaneous beauty staples. The cavernous contents of our bags are strewn with memories of everyday activities – receipts for cab rides to dinner or tickets to exhibitions and theater shows (when such events were regular features on our schedules).

So fundamental is the bag to modern life, in fact, that the Victoria and Albert Museum in London has made it the star of its new fashion exhibition, Bags: Inside Out, opening December 12. Charting the history of the bag from the 18th century to the present day, the exhibit’s curator, Lucia Savi, drew from the thousands of bags the museum had in its archive, and partnered with fashion brands to create the 300-strong showcase. It features some of the most famous bags of the last century, from Carrie Bradshaw’s purple, sequinned Fendi ‘Baguette’, which was stolen in an episode of Sex and the City, to Anya Hindmarch’s ‘I Am Not A Plastic Bag’ tote, which – a decade later – spawned a revolution of reusable cotton bags in the name of sustainability.

“Bags are private possessions that live in the public realm, but they are also status symbols,” says Savi, referring to the It-bag phenomenon that began in the 1990s and still holds true today; needless to say, if the exhibition was to be focused around the FW20 collections, there is no doubt that Bottega Veneta would be center stage. From Gucci to Chanel to Cartier, there’s a wealth of bags and their globetrotting histories to discover in the exhibition. These are some of our favorites….

One of Cartier’s earliest experiments with bags as jewelry, this golden ‘Egg’ bag, with a delicate bracelet strap, would prove the perfect accessory for a debutante ball. “It’s crafted from gold and diamonds,” says Savi. “It’s tiny but, inside, there is a powder compartment that would fit makeup and maybe cigarettes. Women would carry it when out dancing.”

Paco Rabanne’s scintillating belt bag is best described as a jewelry version of a pocket. With a belt crafted from chainmail and a pouch that delicately hangs off it to store all manner of evening essentials, this bag embodies the carefree and spirited late 1960s and early-1970s’ disco mood. “Its relationship to the body is really interesting to me, as it was not a bag to be carried,” says Savi.

Part of Versace’s now-renowned ‘Safety Pin’ collection that saw British model and actor Elizabeth Hurley on the red carpet with a dress slashed to the naval and fastened with pins, this handbag never made it onto the runway but was sold in a select number of stores. “When you hold it, it’s almost impossible to get open because of the huge pin,” says Savi. “But it’s such a statement piece from such an iconic collection.”

The exact bag that was stolen from Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw in a New York alleyway, along with her treasured Manolo Blahniks. The bag was borrowed for the exhibition from the Fendi archive in Rome. “It was one of the first It-bags to come out of that late 1990s period,” says Savi. The power of Carrie and her closet showed in the almost-instant demand for the bag at the time; last year, Fendi relaunched the ‘Baguette’ in myriad colorways.

One of the first reusable tote bags that took slight at the plastic problem, this bag was a perfect example of Anya Hindmarch’s signature playful irony, and it sold out almost instantly upon launch in 2007, turning the humble tote into a status item. “It’s an example of the bag used as a vehicle for political, commercial or artistic messages,” says Savi. Last year, Hindmarch revisited her original idea and crafted it from recycled ocean plastics – the colorful, patterned tote is titled ‘I Am A Plastic Bag.’

Another early example of an It-bag, Chloé’s Paddington was designed by Phoebe Philo, who went on to create a whole catalogue of must-have accessories under Chloé and, later, Celine. “When it was first launched, 8,000 pieces immediately sold out,” says Savi. “It was one of the first contemporary bags to have a wait-list – they couldn’t produce them quick enough to meet demand.”

One of Jonathan Anderson’s most architectural designs gets an arty overhaul with this William Morris version, which takes the British textile designer’s ‘Strawberry Thief’ motif and decorates it across this shapely Loewe bag; it changes the way both the artwork and the angles of the bag are perceived. “This is an example of the bag being used as a canvas,” says Savi.

Upon partnering with graffiti artist Trouble Andrew, Gucci’s Alessandro Michele toyed with the idea of authentic counterfeits; this sturdy leather tote, spray painted with ‘Real’, quickly became a sell-out success. Through this partnership, Michele is challenging the notion of what constitutes art beyond the gallery setting. Graffiti, he says, has artistic and commercial value.

Balenciaga’s Demna Gvasalia is renowned for his irreverent take on everyday items and turning them into luxury goods; his ‘Bazaar’ shopper, launched in 2016 and inspired by a laundry bag, is no exception. Crafted from leather instead of plastic, it “plays with the notions of high and low,” says Savi. “And to the undiscerning person, you’re just carrying a laundry bag – it’s very ‘if you know, you know’,” she says.

With a frame based on a classic 1950s doctor’s bag and a silhouette inspired by an accordion, Gabriela Hearst’s ‘Diana’ bag is a feat of structural architecture. “I love that it’s playing with the idea of a bag as a three-dimensional object that is independent of the body,” says Lucia. “It can stand on its own as a thing of beauty.”

Off-White’s belt bag is one of the simplest in terms of design but was included in the exhibit as an embodiment of the influence that streetwear has had on luxury fashion – with Virgil Abloh’s Off-White at the forefront of the movement. “It’s like sneakers – 20 years ago, nobody would wear them on the runway,” says Savi. “It’s this cross-pollination between the street and high fashion that makes this bag important.”

A more modern example of the evening bag becoming intertwined with jewelry, Alexander McQueen’s ‘Ring Box’ clutch features four metal rings that decorate the knuckles in the playfully macabre way the British label is renowned for. Originally designed by McQueen himself, this SS20 iteration is embroidered with botanicals studded with Swarovski crystals. “It’s not too distant from the 1920s styles that flappers would have carried,” says Savi.

Since taking the helm of the Italian label in 2018, creative director Daniel Lee has created cult bag after cult bag, and the ‘Cassette’ is his latest offering. Featuring a cloud-like bubble silhouette, this bag modernizes the classic Intreccio woven-leather technique Bottega Veneta is known for, turning it into something contemporary. “It’s the ultimate stealth symbol,” says Savi.

Bags: Inside Out is open from December 12, 2020, until September 12, 2021, at the V&A, London.