Bags Inside Out Exhibition at the V&A
Any bag lover must put this exhibition on their calendar because there won’t be any other opportunity to view most of the ever famous handbags in fashion history. Sponsored by Mulberry it will be opened until the 16th of January 2022 at the Victoria and Albert Museum. In this post I will tell the story of some of the most iconic bags in the world. We see them every day in films, TV series and in the street, but do we know how and why these bags were created? I must say that a couple of bags weren’t present in the exhibition despite being very famous and seen hanging on celebrities’ arms like the Balenciaga Lariat bag or the Longchamp Zip Bag designed by architect Thomas Heatherwick. But let’s start our journey.
Just a bit of history. I might call it the precursor of the bum bags this Chatelaine which is dated between 1863 and 1885 and made probably in England. As you can see, a big brooch is the base where multiple chains are hanging from the woman’s waist and several accessories are attached at the end of them. You could find scissors, a notebook, a thimble, purse and more containers where to put all the essentials a woman of that time might need when out and about.
The 2.55 Chanel bag is among the most copied bags in the world. Unfortunately the internet is full of websites that sell as real terrible copies in plastic or maybe also in leather but absolutely nowhere near the original. Just remember that if a bag that is worth thousands of pounds is sold for few hundreds it is not a lucky find but a scam. Coco Chanel created the bag in February 1955, from that date the name was born and as you can see from the picture, the clasp hasn’t got the double C monogram that was included in the 1980s when Karl Lagerfeld became creative director of the Maison. Now this bag is made in a rainbow of colours and in different sizes and it tops the wish list of many women in the world.
The Birkin bag by Hermes is another classic accessory, born from a fortuitous meeting on a plane between English actress Jane Birkin and Hermes CEO Jean Louis Dumas who were sitting next to each other in the 1980s. They have started chatting and the actress started talking about the fact that she couldn’t find a good leather bag, big enough and with pockets and compartments to store all her essentials when travelling. So they have started sketching ideas and when they landed for sure the first inkling of this must have accessory was born. There is a waiting list to buy this very expensive bag and it was immortalised also in an episode of Sex and the City where Samantha tries to jump the queue by pretending that the bag was for a famous client. Who saw that episode will know that Samantha never put her clutches on the bag despite having forked out a huge sum to buy it. There are several versions from leather in every colour to the use of different materials like exotic skins and also in transparent plastic or in rattan. In July 2015, Jane Birkin asked Hermès to stop using her name for the crocodile version due to ethical concerns. She is quoted as having asked Hermes "to debaptise the Birkin Croco until better practices in line with international norms can be put in place".
Louis Vuitton bags are sought after and they are not that expensive and with a waiting list like Hermes. With a bit of frugality everyone can afford to buy something from this French House which started in 1835. The Speedy bag has been part of the core collection ever since and especially in more modern times it has been designed in Limited Editions styles by the several creative directors who gave a new look to the fabric and leather used for this iconic bag. The Monogram Miroir was created by Mark Jacobs for the AW 2006 collection using gold or silver reflective vinyl embossed with the well-known monogram. It was one of the It Bags in the 2000s, coveted by many after seeing it at the arm of many celebrities.
In 2013 Damien Hirst and Miuccia Prada have collaborated to create only 20 exclusive specimens of the Entomology bag made with a Plexiglas shell where real insects and embroidered ones cohabit. Each bag has got the name of the insect chosen by the artist and this collection has been created in Qatar to celebrate “Relics”, a major retrospective of the British artist's work where the sale of the bags have been donated to ROTA, (Reach Out to Asia), a non-profit organisation chaired by Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani the sister of Qatar's ruling Emir.
One of Gianni Versace signature collections has been the Safety Pin one and especially the dress worn by Elizabeth Hurley has been one of the most famous look on a red carpet. The bag has been created in the early 90s and despite not being included in the SS94 iconic catwalk show featuring Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Christy Turlington, it has been very popular because being linked to a famous fashion show but also an accessory that it could be worn by everyone. Now this bag is very rare and it commands a price tag of few thousand pounds.
Again Sex and the City and specifically star stylist Patricia Field, put the Fendi Baguette in purple sequin on Carrie Bradshaw’s shoulder where in a famous episode she get robbed by her shoes and her bag. This iconic accessory has been brought to fame but this TV series where Sara Jessica Parker wears it in several versions. After more than 20 years from its debut, Fendi has put back in production the Baguette a couple of years ago launching it in SS19 with three fun videos. The original version was instead launched at the AW97 collection. The price tag goes from £ 1500.00 upwards depending on the material used. The online Fendi shop has a version with an embroidery kit so you can personalise your Baguette in a unique way.
Anya Hindmarch is known for her messages on her bags, and with the “I am not a Plastic Bag” shopper she has also helped the environment by saving tons of plastic because her message has been received and many, included me, started using canvas bags instead of using the plastic bags given out for free at supermarkets. This cheap tote bag has been sold for £ 5.00 in Sainsbury’s and Anya Hindmarch’s stores where long queue formed in order to snatch one of those bags. It was 2007 and that collaboration between the designer and “We Are What We Do”, a global organisation, created a new trend to always keep reusable bags in our bags to do our shopping. After more than years, last year Anya Hindmarch came out with a new bag but this time the slogan is “ I Am A Plastic Bag” because it is made by a cotton canvas feel fabric produced by recycling plastic bottles.
The Bao Bao bag by Issey Miyake has been designed for the first time in 2000 and its name was Bilbao as homage to the Guggenhiem Museum that had opened in the Spanish city. Then in 2010 the Bao Bao bag as we know came to light made by mesh fabric and small triangles of polyvinyl. It is produced in many colours and its price is not expensive as other iconic bags but it is anyway a favourite of people in the know. Despite the fact that Issey Miyake has been retired from the fashion industry in 1997, he still oversees the overall direction of all lines created by his company, even though the individual collections have been designed by his staff.
The Lady Dior bag was launched in 1994 by creative director Gianfranco FerrĂ©, the successor of Christian Dior Maison. Initially, the bag was named Chouchou but when Princess Diana visited Paris in 1995 and the First Lady gifted her one of these bags during the opening of Cezanne exhibition, in 1996, the house of Dior decided to honour the royal by naming the bag Lady Dior after the Princess' former title. In 2016 Dior and Mark Quinn collaborated on a collection of limited edition pieces inspired by the orchid flowers with their vivid colours. One of the bags designed was the Lady Dior “Fossil Record” bag, which features a flower relief embossed into silver lambskin leather which depict the flower in various stages of bloom.
Mulberry is the sponsor of this exhibition and there, they really know about bags. In the early 2000s the brand has designed several It Bags, loved by many celebrities and also some of those bags had the name of said celebrities like the Alexa for Alexa Chung. The Bayswater Bag was among the first ones to make the Mulberry brand be known in the city and not only in a rural contest. It has been released at the beginning of the 2000s and it is a crossover between a doctor’s bag and the Hermes Birkin with its lock closure. Its first versions were in black, brown and dark brown but then more colours have been added as well as the use of ostrich leather. https://www.vam.ac.uk/
