For a designer who came from a handbag-heavy brand (Chloé) and arrived at another handbag-heavy brand (Givenchy), Clare Waight Keller seems determined to set the tone at her new position without relying too heavily on her accessories department. Her first collection was on the Spring 2018 runway, and it featured only a couple versions of a boxy little flap shoulder bag. Now that bag is back for a bit of a closer look in the brand’s just-released Pre-Fall 2018 lookbook, along with some other newcomers.
I’m an enormous fan of Waight Keller’s work, but that first little bag didn’t thrill me too much. I still think it lacks the inventive, modernist bohemian charm of the best bags created under her tenure at Chloé, like the Drew and Faye, but it’s clear she wanted to start her time presiding over Givenchy accessories with something simple and not too bold. In this new collection, though, another new design has caught my eye: a hybrid bucket bag/hobo with chain detail, which strikes exactly the kind of casually elegant note that has long characterized Waight Keller’s best work.
The lookbook also includes some men’s bags, and you can check out the full run below.
[Images via Vogue Runway]
