Alexander Wang    Love It or Leave It

Love It or Leave It: Alexander Wang’s Potential Handbag Comeback

Although Alexander Wang still sells tons of handbags and generates plenty of consumer interest, it’s been a few years since both the brand and the man behind it had a hit bag. That may sound troublesome, but it’s not as bad as it seems; brands don’t need to reinvent the wheel every year because a popular design and the variations that spin off of it are usually enough to sustain a brand’s accessories bottom line for seasons on end, if managed carefully. Wang’s hits (and there have been plenty) have done just that.

While the designer was at Balenciaga, though, I noticed a creative slowdown in the brand’s once-prolific handbag business. All of Wang’s current marquee designs for his eponymous label predate his arrival at Balenciaga, and since then, new designs like weird sneaker bags have failed to catch on. Now that Wang’s back at his own brand full time, though, things are starting to feel more promising. For evidence, look no farther than Wang’s Pre-Fall 2016 lookbook.

Emphasis on consumer-focused accessories has never been a big part of Wang’s runway shows or lookbooks, but there are several strong options in the Pre-Fall 2016 images. These bags feel more grown up than many of Wang’s past creations, but they still have the designer’s dark, slightly industrial, very cool edge that’s long made him the toast of American It Girls. In that way, they seem like a strong way forward in Wang’s post-Balenciaga career.

Check out the bags below and let us know whether or not you’re on board in the comments.

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