The Dior Saddle Bag, the Fendi Baguette, the Gucci Jackie, the Prada Re-Edition, the Celine Sulky, the list goes on. It’s no secret that archival revivals have been one of the biggest, if not the hottest, bag trends of the last few seasons and this movement can be tied back to the vintage fashion and 90s trend boom. Given the jump in popularity of shopping the secondary market for vintage or pre-loved styles, designer brands (most of whom do not have a stake in resale) smartly chose to re-introduce vintage styles as a way to take advantage of the trend. From both a consumer and a business standpoint it makes sense—the demand for particular styles of the past has dramatically increased and, being that the styles are vintage, the supply is low. By re-creating these styles, brands are not only able to please trend-hungry consumers, but they’re also able to capitalize in a way that they would otherwise be unable to, due to lack of control over their aftermarkets.
The trend shows no signs of slowing as more and more designers dig into their archives for inspiration, finding ways, both obvious and not-so-obvious, to tap into the nostalgia movement. But what does this mean for consumers who are craving newnesses and something never before seen? Those handbag lovers have turned to Daniel Lee’s work at Bottega Veneta, whose innovative designs and unique perspectives are impossible to ignore. It has also helped contemporary brands continue to experience success with fresh bag designs. While there’s certainly a case for both sides and a place for both innovation and nostalgia in a handbag lover’s closet, gone are the days when most things felt fresh. Has fashion exhausted its innovation?
The question is a complex one to answer and unpack, but as Gucci just recently followed in the footsteps of Stella McCartney and Burberry, partnering with the Real Real to help resell their own goods, and more brands follow suit, it will be interesting to see where the vintage-inspired trend goes. As designers gain a piece of the secondary market pie, they’ll no longer need to produce re-edition bags in order to capitalize on trends of the past. It’s possible that, by having a hand in the resale market, designers would once again be able to focus on newness and innovation, rather than keeping their focus solely on missing out on sales dollars from archival designs.
Personally, I’m happy to ride the wave of nostalgia for the time being and I’m enjoying the revival of styles that were before my time, but I’m also excited and intrigued to see what the future of the handbag world looks like when the focus on bringing back the old dies down.
When reviewing this topic, what comes to mind is this girl Melissa I follow on Instagram. Only due to the fact that she CONSTANTLY is buying a ton of vintage bags that she thinks are the next big thing or “it-bag”. And while very few times she’s right, most of the time it’s just such a waste of money spent on bags that “were”, so to speak. Mere weeks later, she then sells them because she had grown tired I suppose. I always wondered why women like herself didn’t just buy something new and original and not just follow every vintage trend or re-edition bag that comes on the market?! Take the Prada nylon bags for example, EVERYONE and their sister has one now and it just screams uninspired and unoriginal thought to me. I will personally stick to new Bottega Veneta bags because that’s where the quality, timeless, yet edgy designs are at.
I think you refer to Melsoldera on YouTube. She “buys” a ridiculous amount of vintage bags to predict the next hit but often the bags are so fugly
Well I didn’t want to directly call anyone out lol But yeah, the amount she buys is crazy high and doesn’t even hardly make sense. In my experience though, people who buy this much stuff on a consistent basis usually have some sort of void in their life that they’re really trying to fill with shopping. Maybe her husband doesn’t give her enough attention who knows, but either way it’s a habit that isn’t very healthy and will never actually fix the root of the problem.
I also know which influencer you’re taking about but the way you’re speculating about her personal life and mental health is not warranted in my opinion. This forum is a positive space and you may not agree with her purchase choices but the comments about her having what you feel to be a problem is crossing a line.
I know the girl “Mel” you are talking about – she has the absolute worse taste in fashion and even more horrible taste in buying old junk bags and then she predicts it will come back in style – i couldn’t watch more than a video or two because she is exhausting. Repeat bags are good once in a few years but the lack of fresh ideas and bags is frustrating to me!
Yes! I know exactly who you’re talking about. She doesn’t really buy many items but gets them lent out to her to show and then gives them back to the store. Some of her choices come across as disingenuous. She tends to cling onto the fact that she selected the new “it-bag” correctly several times when it was definitely more of a guess on her part. While I do certainly have some reservations about her, she seems passionate about handbags which is refreshing. I do enjoy re-issued bags but I can’t wrap my head around purchasing the same style new for more than triple of what it used to cost.
Well here’s the thing, nobody loves handbags more than myself. I’ve been obsessed since I was a little kid even! But there’s a limit, and you have to establish some sort of self control and put more thought into your bag purchases (because let’s face it, they’re not getting any cheaper). This is what I cannot get my head wrapped around regarding this girl (and many others I’ve seen). It’s as if she frivolously buys 3-5 handbags a month at times and it’s beyond crazy! I don’t even believe she picks good styles and certainly not good color choices half the time, but I think it’s because she just buys without any back thought, so it’s easy to regret shortly after. I live in Montreal and I’m very personally familiar with the people who work for the companies that “leant” her bags in the past, and let me tell you, most of the bags you see she buys herself. At the end of the day, how many damn bags do we need?! Most of us are not even going anywhere lately lol As for the re-issued bags, I agree that it’s ridiculous to pay the over-the-top prices for bags that never costed that to begin with. At this point, I honestly just crave originality and great craftsmanship from some of these timeless designers.
I like it. Good design is always in style.
We need more easily accessible bespoke with the bigger houses. Hermes, Delvaux, Moreau do a great job with the higher end handmade items (esp exotics), but brands like Dior, LV, Chanel, Gucci SHOULD do this with their more popular designs. And not at a premium either (like LV’s now which is about 50% more than the regular price). I think people would cycle through their stuff less b/c they would be getting exactly what they want (color, leather, size, hardware) and there would most certainly be less waste (points for sustainability).
There are so little design houses can do that hasn’t been done before. Then again, there are things that have been done before that can be modernized and improved to fit today’s world and needs of people now.
I think Coach did so right when they went to their design archives and pulled up Tabby. It’s now one of their bread&butter bags.
Very timely article – what with Mulberry’s re-issue of Alexa. (Which, I think is another good example of revisiting previous handbag styles.) But agree with one of the comments posted here – all the recent styles that are coming out have been pretty much derivative. I mean, there’s only so much you can do with a handbag and still make it functional so….
Mulberry would have been mad not to re-release Alexa. It was one of their bread and butter bags, a classic. People haven’t been very excited about the new type of handle though. But to return a classic that wasn’t ready to leave the stage, is a smart business decision. Many other bags just lost their magic or just proved to be so impractical and it was time for them to go.
Wanted all when I was younger b
ut now I stick to one brand, H…..
All the rests will go to my nieces and nephew’s wives, they couldn’t wait.
They should have fun like I did before.