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Are Spring 2015’s Bags Enough to Aid Prada’s Ailing Handbag Business?

As of late, financial news for Prada hasn’t been great. According to Fashionista, the brand’s overall growth was just 1% in early 2014, which is well below what investors would generally hope for in a luxury sector that’s seen sustained expansion overall in recent seasons. A big part of that slowdown comes from consumers’ apparent ambivalence toward Prada’s bags; the category, which is among the brand’s most important, is down 5% so far this year. It’s questionable where the brand’s Spring 2015 collection, which debuted only days after this news emerged, can help.

Runway show are enormous PR opportunities for brands, and the handbags in Prada’s models’ hands tend to be of a more challenging sort than what you’ll find at the shows of competitors like Fendi and Chanel. Those brands arm their models with zeitgeist-y bags and small accessories that inspire wait lists and excited online chatter, but Prada keeps things weird, as it is wont to do. Maybe everyone should just hire Karl Lagerfeld to do everything, at least when the end goal is selling handbags.

Meanwhile, at Prada’s Spring 2015 show, things were as one would expect. Models toted handbag in neutral palettes that reflected both the show’s 70s inspiration and Prada’s signature ugly-pretty aesthetic, which will likely appeal to people who already love Prada (or who want a more exaggerated version of the Givenchy Lucrezia, which seems to be the inspiration for the bag above). It seems unlikely to win Prada new fans, though, and although the brand’s many saffiano styles remain office favorites for women the world over, it could use something fresher and more exciting if it wants to reverse its handbag fortunes.

Check out the full collection below.

[Photos via Vogue UK]

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