In 2017, Riccardo Tisci departed from Givenchy to be replaced by Clare Waight Keller as its Creative Director. Just a year prior, his last big bag push had made its runway debut on the brand’s Fall 2016 runway.
The Givenchy Horizon bag, with its clean lines and easy-to-wear, consumer-friendly size and shape, had all the makings of a hit. Plus, Givenchy alluded to the bag being a heavy-hitter, arming models with it on the runway when, in seasons past, bags weren’t always a presence at its shows.
2016 was also the year I started at PurseBlog. After a few months of working, I was ready to add a new bag to my small collection, and the Horizon was on my radar, along with the Saint Laurent Sac de Jour, a Celine Nano Luggage, and Gucci’s extremely popular Marmont Bag. The way I shopped for bags (and in general) was a lot different than how I shop now.
Big purchases were a big decision, and I was pretty green to the handbag world, so of course, I sought the expertise of our very own Amanda, who steered me from the Horizon Bag as Givenchy was in its transitional phase. Tisci’s departure had been announced, and Clare Waight Keller had yet to make her design debut.
Changing Times
While icons from the Tisci era are still relevant years after his departure, the Horizon Bag was released during the brand’s transitional period, making its staying power nearly impossible. Today, in 2025, the luxury goods industry is in another tumultuous period, with major transitions happening at Celine, Bottega Veneta, and Chanel.
In a perfect world, a designer will make a seamless transition, marrying their own aesthetic to the brand’s timeless DNA, like Chemena Kamali has done at Chloé. Still, it often takes a few seasons for a brand in a transitional period to really find its footing.
And while we anxiously wait to see what’s next from three major players in the luxury handbag game, will you still be shopping the current line-ups? Or do you hold off to see what’s to come?
The answer is simple, nobody cool is buying bags right now. There’s nothing of interest. It’s all about enjoying and wearing the most out of the curated collection we already have. The age of overconsumption is dead. People are fed up of the wild prices that, quite frankly, don’t even come close to matching the innovation out there.
100%
I agree with this 100%. I am in the process of selling so many of my bags…all Hermes, most Chanel and Goyard. I’m focusing on the vintage bags. I love and sensible books like Phoebe Philo and things that don’t have so much status. I am 66 years old and when I started saving up and buying Hermès bags when I was 40, they weren’t everywhere and no one in San Francisco really knew what they were. It was kind of if you know you know situation. Now they are saturated and so obvious. I’m over it. Well said Robin!
I am in the market for a pre-loved Hermes and would be very interested in purchasing one of your bags. Please reply if you are interested!
Exactly and well said! Tired of the increases. Selling much of my collection, paying attention to different, more reasonable, and unique brands. It feels good to simplify.
I completely agree! With the outrageous price increases and declining quality, I’ve also sold many of my bags and started buying from indie designers instead. Their quality surpasses that of the big houses at a significantly lower price!
Very well said.
Cool is subjective, but I agree with you that the market has been a bit dull. The bags that I continue to lust for are ones that have been around for seasons. I’ve said this a few times in our EOY coverage, but 2024 definitely felt uninspiring and unexciting. I hope 2025’s big changes will bring a more exciting year!
With the exception of the Alaia Le Teckel ofc.
I would hold off to see what’s to come, like Matthieu Blazy at Chanel.
However, personally I still wouldn’t buy anything if the quality doesn’t improve.
There were some disappointments, though—like Hedi Slimane moving to Celine from Saint Laurent. I stepped into the new Celine flagship in Omotesando, but everything felt reminiscent of the Saint Laurent store, just with gold accents instead of silver. The same applies to Alessandro Michele at Valentino and Riccardo Tisci at Burberry.
It feels like they’re just playing musical chairs…?
Not at all. I like what I like, does not matter to me who the creative director is.
100%!! I buy what I like, “cool” or not.
As mentioned above, I find the most seamless transitions are the CDs who bring in a nice mix of newness from their own POV married with the brand’s history.
I just bought a pre-loved Bottega “Hop” because I wanted to have a piece of Matthieu Blazy’s BV. I probably wouldn’t have felt the same urgency if he wasn’t leaving. That being said I think the Hop, and BV in general, are in line with the recent interest in quiet luxury and overall classic, more enduring styles; not to mention the issues of quality and manufacturing integrity, which used to be a given in luxury and are now ‘hit or miss.’
Emphasis on pre-loved because as much as I wanted it, the $3,900 for a NEW small Hop was too much.