Don’t say we didn’t warn you, but over the next month or two, something confusing is going to happen: your favorite brand is going to try to sell you a backpack. Even if you’re not a student. Even, in some cases, if you haven’t been a student in several decades and you thought the designers you prefer knew you wouldn’t ever need one again. Whether or not you’re receptive to their pitch is up to you, but it’s coming. If you’re a contemporary customer, it’s already here.
When we’ve written about backpacks in the past, readers have seemed split in the idea, at best. Now that the trend has reached critical mass, with backpacks (or the euphemistically termed “sling bags”) appearing in Spring 2014 accessories lineups at virtually every level of the price spectrum, we want to hear if your opinions have changed or softened at all. Before you answer, take a look at the nearly two dozen backpacks below; some are brand new designs from brands who have gone all-in on the trend, others are familiar bags with double straps added by designers who seem to be hedging to see if backpacks are nothing more than a passing fad. (I’m betting on “fad.”)