Death of the It-Bag
Filed under: Handbags, Accessories, Style in the News
Lisa Armstrong, a fashion journalist for the London Times, posed a provocative question in yesterday's paper: what is the future of the It-Bag? Will the it-bag go the way of the Member's Only Jacket -- a coveted trend everyone once wore and somehow thought was cool -- or will the it-bag market continue to flourish as it has over the past decade? The it-bag dilemma boils down to this: when every woman on the street has a status bag, does status really mean anything?
You're thinking no, aren't you? If so, you're not alone.
Logos aren't sophisticated -- I get that -- and if you want to leave the question at that, fine. But before you do, ask yourself what would it mean to do away with these horrible "nouveau-riche" logos? What would happen if the status bag did away with the status indicators?
The answer is clear: a black Gucci would look just like a black non-Gucci.
Designers may love to hate logos, but the truth is that they need them just as much as companies like Target and Coca-Cola need them. You may not be the girl with the logo bag, the logo sunglasses and the over-exposed shoes, but if handbags particularly -- and fashion generally -- is not about impressing others how can anyone still justify the expense of a $600 bag?
Think of it as a zen koan with an easy answer: If a Chanel bag sat on the table and no one knew it was Chanel, would anyone care?
Of course, no one would care! Which is fine since I doubt Lulu Guinness and Lisa Armstrong really want us to forget about labels and logos. Need I remind you ladies, when we stop caring, you stop working.
