Month: July 2011
Judith Leiber Resort 2012 is as shiny as you might expect
Image via Moda Operandi
Perusing the Judith Leiber Resort 2012 offerings now available for advanced order on Moda Operandi is almost soothing. In the giant, endless parade of new ideas that is the fashion industry, Leiber’s commitment season after season to the company’s whimsical crystal-encrusted evening bags are a shelter in the storm. You know what you’ll find, even if you’re not sure exactly how it will take shape.
For Resort 2012, the theme is…resorts. See? Pleasantly straight-foward. There are shell clutches as well as a few box minaudieres named after famous streets in American resort towns (and inexplicably, one named after a mall in Atlanta). The collection also include a full line of evening bags dedicated to the twelve signs of the zodiac, perfect for the astrology nut in your life. (But seriously, Mercury Retrograde is not something to mess with.) If you have a Moda Operandi membership, you can pre-order the bags there until July 28th. If not, we have more highlights from the collection after the jump.
Gwyneth Paltrow is the new face of Coach in Europe and Asia
Images via Vogue Taiwan
There was a time when huge celebrities who largely avoided domestic advertising in order to maintain their pristine images for fans did ad campaigns overseas for big bucks and Americans were none the wiser. That time was before the Internet, and it has very clearly passed. Via Vogue Taiwan, we now have a peek at Gwyneth Paltrow‘s first ads as the international brand ambassador for Coach.
Reason #5 Why We Love Bags
Reason #5 Why We Love Bags: On disgustingly hot and humid days, we don’t have to stress over our bags making us sweat like our clothes do.
The Proenza Schouler PS1 in teal screams summer
I just checked the calendar and realized we are midway through summer. How exactly did that happen? One minute I remember dreaming of warm weather with you and now I am stuck in heavy heat and humidity. While countless New Yorkers plan weekends in the Hamptons, I am excited for a trip down to Florida and the Caribbean next week.
When I booked our vacation, Net-A-Porter must have been alerted, because the teal Proenza Schouler PS1 popped up on the site that day. The color is perfectly reminiscent of the Carribean seas, into which I’ll be dipping my toes any day now.
Louis Vuitton’s excellent Fall 2011 collection produces equally excellent ad campaign
As you guys know, I’m a little obsessed with ad campaigns. Not only do the big brands almost always give bags and accessories a front-and-center showcase, but fashion ads allow us a bit of a closer look at the story behind a collection and how a designer invisions his or her clothing. For fashion junkies, ads are more than just ads.
Thankfully, brands are starting to catch on to our interest, so not only are they releasing the images early, but they’re also giving us a behind-the-scenes peek at what goes in to a successful campaign. We’ve got both images and video (including an interview from Vuitton creative director Marc Jacobs) from Louis Vuitton‘s beautiful, drenched-in-vintage ads after the jump. Bonus factoid: The campaign was shot in Brooklyn.
Want It Wednesday: Maison Martin Margiela Tchotchkes
Of all the words that could potentially be used to describe the enormously innovative work done over the past few decades by Maison Martin Margiela, I think that “clever” is the most apt. Margiela’s best work always makes me smile, even when the themes are dark, because the man (and the company, which he may or may not have left, depending on who you believe) always comes up with a way to take the basic thing that we all know and twist our expectations into something that makes a huge (if sometimes subtle) visual statement.
With that in mind, it only makes sense that the Maison Martin Margiela by L’Atelier d’Exercices collaboration, the subject of this week’s Want It Wednesday, has yielded such an interesting crop of decor objects. From relatively mundane items like an ostrich feather pen ($60) to the downright bizarre faux door decal ($460), I’d love to have a few of these things around the house.
Let’s enjoy some eye candy courtesy of VBH
VBH Brera Croc-Quilted Handbag, $3650 via Neiman Marcus
It’s been a hard day of economic realities and art criticism around here, so why not ease into the afternoon with something obviously beautiful like the VBH Brera Croc Quilted Handbag? You know you want to.
Art piece meant as commentary on the Hermes Birkin still costs four figures
Have you ever noticed that there’s a certain subset of people who (incorrectly) think they’re very clever because they dislike the fashion industry, or they think they’ve got it all figured out? It seems like artist Shelter Serra, seller of the resin-casted Hermes Birkin pictured above, might be part of that group.
According to Refinery29, Serra calls the two-dimensional “art piece” a commentary on how an object that costs several months’ rent does little more than the function of a simple plastic bag, and he thinks we take such things for granted. This whole premise is annoying for a couple of reasons that we’ll explore after the jump, but first and foremost, it’s annoying because it still costs $2500 and does even less than a simple plastic bag.
Watch out bag lovers: Leather prices are on the rise
No matter your brand of choice or accessories budget, I think all bag lovers can agree: Prices are too freakin’ high. Even if you’re willing to grudgingly pay them in exchange for quality, it still stings a little bit every time, doesn’t it? Get ready for it to sting a little bit more in the near future – it’s costing brands more to source leather from Italian tanneries than ever, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
The rise in prices is impacting contemporary brands with sensitive price structures more than anyone, and if you took any economics courses in college, you know that there are only a few ways to deal with this kind of problem. Brands can cut amount or quality of leather used, increase prices or source materials from alternate locations (in this case, mostly South America.) WWD spoke to four brands who have used these tactics with varying degrees of success. Which option do you prefer for the companies that you patronize?
Save, Spend, Splurge: Neutral Python
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Python is huge for fall. I haven’t been an overwhelming proponent of many of the season’s python looks, but it’s hard for me to turn down a good, natural, neutral python bag. For me, the beauty of python is in the skin’s inherent texture and pattern, and depending on the bag, straying too far from that can spoil the fun. That’s why for our latest Save, Spend, Splurge, we’ve picked three python (or python-embossed) bags at three different price points to show off the material’s natural beauty.
Man Bag Tuesday: Ralph Lauren’s $24,000 alligator weekender
Ralph Lauren Purple Label Alligator Weekender, $24,000 via Mr. Porter
Usually, our Man Bag Monday feature happens on…well…Monday. But considering the specifications of the Ralph Lauren Purple Label Alligator Weekend Bag, we think you’ll understand why we’re a day late; we spent most of yesterday picking our chins up off the floor.
When you consider that The Row’s Crocodile Backpack rings up at an astonishing $39,000, the $24,000 price tag on this versatile carryall seems downright reasonable. Ok, maybe “reasonable” isn’t the word, but if you got this sharp travel bag instead of the backpack, you’d still have enough money left over for an Hermes Birkin and a rather nice wallet to go with it.
