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Chanel Has Quietly Launched Its Own Monogram Fabric for Bags

The brand is getting in on the logo trend with a new material in several new designs

Logo bags are undeniably big right now, and specifically bags in logo fabrics. Louis Vuitton‘s monogram canvas is the most famous of the bunch, and lately, it’s hard to even track down an LV logo bag to buy. Gucci is also a huge part of this trend, and both Dior and Fendi have recently revived monogram fabrics that had long been relegated to back-burner status in order to capitalize on consumers’ new interest in conspicuous branding. That puts a brand like Chanel in a bit of a bind: the Chanel logo is famous because of hardware, so it doesn’t have an archival logo-print fabric with which to stoke nostalgia. So for Spring 2018, Chanel introduced one.

The debut of Chanel’s coated logo canvas wasn’t marked with any fanfare or specific mention from the brand at all, but it did pop up a bit on the season’s runway. When the lookbook dropped, it was clear that the look was both a coated canvas (instead of a printed leather) and something that would be used in multiple bags and accessories. What’s unclear is if it will be seasonal or something that’s used continually going forward.

For the print itself, it hews pretty close to the conventions of successful monogram patterns that have been set out by similar designer brands in the past. It’s a neutral, two-tone color scheme set on a diamond grid, which is both common for logo prints and appropriate for Chanel in particular, since diamond quilting is a brand staple. Like Louis Vuitton, Chanel’s print also uses the brand’s iconic initial logo and a floral motif; for Chanel, it’s the camellia, which has long been in use in the brand’s designs.

Like all brands that do both logo textiles and leather, Chanel’s coated canvas bags represent something of an entry-level price point, in terms of the brand’s overall pricing structure. (They are still, of course, quite expensive.) For example, the bigger of the two camera bag styles offered in canvas retails for $2,800, while the season’s leather camera case in a similar size costs $3,900. It’s that pricing structure that makes me think this material is probably not a one-and-done thing; all brands need slightly more accessible bags at the low end to entice younger and first-time customers, and having all your super-recognizable bags made in leather makes that hierarchy more difficult to achieve without devaluing your more expensive leather pieces. If shoppers respond well to these bags, I have a feeling the print will stay around a while.

Beyond just the coated canvas, the monogram motif also appeared on two other non-leather designs: PVC bucket bags in navy and clear. In those situations, the print simply provided textural variation instead of color. Check out all the logo bags from the collection and their prices below.

Chanel Logo Pouch
$1,200

Chanel Logo Large Shopping Bag
$3,200

Chanel Logo Camera Case
$2,800

Chanel Logo Camera Case
$2,300

Chanel Logo Bowling Bag
$3,500

Chanel Logo Bowling Bag
$3,200

Chanel Logo Bucket Bag
$3,400

Chanel Logo Bucket Bag
$3,700

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