Forget bags, it’s time for meme bags

It all would have started exactly in 2000 with the Fendi Baguette, aided by the series Sex and the cityseason 3, episode 17: “ It’s not a bag. It’s a wand! “. The concept of bag Thus were born, soon followed by the City by Balenciaga (it was Nicolas Ghesquière), the Paddington by Chloé (around Phoebe Philo), the Alexa by Mulberry (imagined by Alexa Chung, herself a prototype of the it’s girl), Dior’s Saddle (John Galliano era for Dior Spring-Summer 2000, dusted off by Maria Grazia Chiuri for Fall-Winter 2018-2019) or more recently the Telfar Shopper.

Except that today so many trends follow one another and accumulate, in particular due to social networks, that it becomes difficult, if not artificial, to identify a bag that is representative of a year. . To mark the times, the stylists seem to have found another card to play: that of the joke-shaped bag, destined to go viral on social media, I called the meme bag.

Get out of the it-bag, fashionistas now stand out with meme-bags

You might remember artistic director Demna Gvasalia’s fake Ikea bag for Balenciaga? She then proposed a pocket in the shape of a packet of Lays chips, or even an imitation of a garbage bag. More recently, it was Jonathan Anderson who proposed a pigeon-shaped minaudière for his brand JW Anderson.

If bags (but also shoes and other accessories) have almost always represented a financial windfall for luxury brands, it is above all because they pose fewer problems of size, cut and seasonality: whatever its morphology or climate, you can wear a handbag. But what is most surprising today is the way it-bag they seek less to seduce through obvious desirability than through some form of irony or playfulness. At a time when more and more young people dream of becoming an influencer, it’s also a good way to make sure that a photo with their accessory that looks like a same can be used to get virality on social networks.

The meme-bag, an instrument of social distinction, cut out for virality

And demand is exploding, according to Libby Page, market director of the luxury eshop Net-a-porter, interviewed by Keeper about this :

“Accessories have become a world of their own, rather than a simple complement to ready-to-wear. This fall-winter alone, we’ve increased our assortment of bags, shoes and accessories by 65% ​​due to strong customer demand. »

Inflation would also push the general public to spend less on clothing, and therefore to keep their possible budget for the purchase of accessories, loss leaders in the luxury sector. The latter, often easily identifiable (the general public is more inclined to recognize a Birkin or Kelly bag than Hermès ready-to-wear) can give an outfit a different look. It is a social symbol, an instrument of class distinction. And the less functional it is, the more it is a performance of taste, as he had illustrated in For sale Sunset. But it’s still expensive, the joke to wear…

Front page photo credit: Screenshots That’s it ; Balenciaga fashion show; For sale Sunset.