V73 Canvas Printed Tote, $265 via Luisa Via Roma
Today’s start to feel a little bit like Groundhog Day, isn’t it? A few hours ago, we brought to you a story about Louis Vuitton suing a media company for violating its trademarks, and now we have news of a company that thinks it’s a good idea to print the visage of an Hermes Birkin on a canvas bag: the V73 Canvas Printed Tote. The day’s handbag news is downright retro.
For those who missed it, Thursday Friday already had this bright idea, and although the number of people who I still see carrying them in New York City would indicate that it definitely hit one something that people were interested in, it didn’t end well. Hermes sued them for trademark infringement, the lawsuit was settled privately and the bags are no longer available. (Well, at least not with an Hermes print – Thursday Friday moved along to Chanel recently.)
What V73 has used seems to be more of an artistic rendering than a straight-up photo like that used by Thursday Friday, but other than that, the concept is exactly the same and I’m betting that Hermes’ legal department will react similarly and eventually get a similar settlement. If you’d like to own a tote like this, I’d urge you to look for a secondhand Thursday Friday version instead – although the appearance of the leather grain on this version is pretty cool, the price is almost three times what the original version (the original copy? This is so…Baudrillardian) sold for. Buy through Luisa Via Roma for $265.
