UPDATE: WE HAVE CLOSE-UPS OF THE BAG! CHECK AFTER THE JUMP FOR MORE.
At the tail end of Friday, when I was too zoned out thinking about the upcoming holiday weekend and the impending arrival of New York Fashion Week to think real thoughts or accomplish real things, an interesting link came across Twitter. According to a story by Katherine Ormerod at UK fashion magazine Grazia Daily, Hedi Slimane’s first piece of accessory design as creative director at Yves Saint Laurent (Saint Laurent Paris? I’m still unclear what I’m supposed to say when I refer to the brand as a whole) has made an unlikely debut: on the arm of Gwyneth Paltrow at the airport.
Ormerod reports that Slimane designed this bag especially for Paltrow, so it’s unclear whether or not it’ll become a regular production piece for Slimane’s first Yves Saint Laurent/Saint Laurent Paris accessories collection in Spring 2013. If this is truly a Slimane x YSL piece, though, it might gives us a few hints about what we can expect from the brand’s forthcoming purses.
First, it’s absent any external branding. That might be because it’s a one-off piece, but it seems more likely that Slimane will want to position the accessories line in a way similar to blockbuster handbag brands like Celine and Givenchy. That means dialing back the ubiquitous Ys in favor of the new minimalism that has taken over some sectors of the high-end handbag design world over the past few years, which makes a certain amount of sense when you consider Slimane’s designer history and his tendency to be on the leading edge of aesthetic ideas. More notable than anything, though, is the fact that the bag is beautiful. As Ormerod points out in her story, you can tell that the bag is made of fabulous leather even in these grainy photos, and it would make a wonderful staple piece in almost any woman’s closet. Slimane would do well to make this bag a foundational piece in his inaugural YSL accessories collection.
That bag is gorgeous. I think that ring deserves a shout out, as well.
too simple and regular. You can not tell this bag from any other bag……. It is a shame that they are doing away with the “designer looks” and logos and being “just a brand”
The “designer look” has evolved from 90th kitch to modern minimalism that is why the previous artistic director(Stefano Pilati) of the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house was replaced by the new one, Hedi Slimane. One of few designers who can express well sublimate current trends in society into the fashion trends.
There is definitely big change in fashion trends because our societe has changed a lot as well. And obviously it is hard to accept. But the new line of accessories at Saint Laurent Paris looks definitely much more modern than it did in the era if Pilati.
That bag is gorgeous! It looks like a real luxury bag similar to Hermes! The quality is great, it ages extremely well since it is very solid while it is very light.
No one wears anymore old YSL. Everyone switched to Saint Laurent Paris accept old fashion people.
I love this bag. My favorite shape and the leather looks oh so buttery. The obsession begins!
This bag is absolutely gorgeous! But I still miss those Ys……I’d say this piece is a celine if i meet it in the “wild”…
Lovely leather, but whatever GP has in it is prob too heavy for the bag. Just look at the strap pulling.
looks like the sophia coppola x louis vuitton, or a chloe…
I agree!!
The leather is gorgeous but the shape is kind of bland, and the construction of the strap doesn’t look right. A bag that big should have a strap that won’t pull like that with heavy weight.
I agree – the strap needs to be anchored down better or something. Also, I am over gold hardware.
From what I’ve read, this bag was a prototype made for Gwyneth, so some of the functional problems might be cleared up later if it makes it to regular production.
This truly is a beautiful bag. In an odd way, it seems to be a combination of Vuitton’s Classic Speedy and Phoebe Philo’s Celine minimalism.
I sent this link to a friend of mine via gchat earlier today, and he said the same thing – it’s like a Celine take on a Louis Vuitton Speedy. I totally agree.
Perhaps, what I enjoy the most is the way the straps attach: without hardware. If you look closely, it appears that the leather just loops around a single, metal square, buckles back onto the strap, and then tucks into the belt loops. I like Heidi’s aesthetic on this. It removes the traditional (read: scratchy, noisy) metal strap attachments and simplifies the look with refinement.
“Snooze….”, in my opinion, and I am all about minimalism…
lol@gorgeous bag. oh please people it’s boring, it looks like a speedy, and nothing makes me want it. I prefer character which lacks here. great leather ok, fine… but really it’s nothing to oh and ah about.
nice bags.
[email protected]
Can’t wait for them to fire Hedi Slimane
Beautiful bag. Reminds me of Tod’s D Styling Bauletto Medio. Handles may be too thin for the weight the bag can carry.
The strap pulling on the body of the bag looks like a tear/hole waiting to happen over time, and not a short amount of time either.
I think it looks pretty blah too, but I do like her ring–nothing blah about that!
What’s the usual contractual protocol for celebrities attached to handbag brands? I thought Gwyneth was the face of Coach. Just found it a little curious that she would be allowed to carry a handbag from another designer.
The bag is kind of a snooze, and the construction looks off. It looks as though it may tip over once she removes it from her shoulder.
So, far I’m not impressed. Besides, wasn’t the Roady YSL’s take on a beautiful minimalist bag? And done alot better even though I wasn’t a fan until I saw it in person.
Final assessment-it just doesn’t look very pretty.
It looks like a bag carried around d airport, big, leather, black useful bag and in my opinion nothing more than that, and it’s manly even, nothing that I have against that, but just sayin’…it is ok, not my fashion, but hey….
Its just a leather duffle. Hedi is so incredibly overrated.
I went into the YSL store on Rodeo Drive yesterday. I was told the bags would not be available until October or November.
Gorgeous leather and gorgeous bag for a BASIC style bag. However, although I love Celine, it looks very Celine and not YSL. I hope that the future, new-line YSL bags will still look like YSL bags. I’ve been following YSL bags since the late 70s, I think it was.
I’ve been very nervous about this design take over and have bought three new YSL bags over the last 6 weeks, just in case I don’t like the new lines coming out.
I’ve purchased a medium, red, Cabas Chyc satchel, a chocolate brown, buffalo, medium Downtown, and a gray, Cabas, Muse 2 tote bag. That should hold me for a while. I purchased them all over; at the YSL boutique, at the YSL outlet in Cabazon,near Palm Springs, (Labor Day sale), and on Bluefly. I’m snapping bags up from the pre-takeover collection.
And by the looks of all of the bags that were sold at Cabazon, a lot of other women are nervous about the takeover,too. A sales associate and I were chatting about it.
I am glad you feel the same way I do. I also have purchased the red cabas Chyc in medium and the stone color. I was a little hesitant because I thought that it is going to be “old” style but everyone tells me they will always be classics. I am still a little hesitant for having two of the same bag in different colors but could not resist the red 🙂
I feel the same way and have picked up a couple Muse bags (my favorite). It’s really sad that they’re doing away with the Y and the classic Y designs. It’s a branding fail, IMO. There’s a difference between updating a brand and abandoning it. And they’ve chosen the latter.