Saint Laurent Takes It Back to the 80s for Fall

By Amanda Mull • Oct 15, 2013 • Last modified Jul 17, 2016

If you already hate Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent bags, get ready to have another rage blackout!

We got on Hedi’s case a few months ago for the Birkin-aping Sac Du Jour, and for Fall 2013, Slimane is back with some more bags that are not-so-loosely based on handbag history. This time, it’s the Saint Laurent Cassandre Bags, which may or may not cause visions of vintage Chanel totes to dance in your head. In particular, the bags might remind you of the celeb-favorite Chanel Caviar Jumbo XL Weekender Tote, which is a highly sought vintage piece that has the same partially-chain double handles and flip-over logo closure as the Saint Laurent Cassandre Shoppers, both quilted and non. (And, it must be said, quilting has never made anything look less Chanel. It’s not a design feature you add if you’re trying to distance yourself from Chanel’s aesthetic.)

The line also boasts a shoulder bag with a flap top and logo closure, this one with the same diagonal quilts as the beige shopper. The design clearly mines the same 80s material that Chanel has taken to referencing recently, except that the material was, you know, actually created by Chanel back in the 80s. Rummaging through your own archive is quite different from rummaging through that of another brand.

That’s not to say that these bags are unattractive, of course. They’re attractive for the same reason that the original bags are getting a second look from both luxury vintage shoppers and Chanel’s accessory department alike: they reference a very specific period of time in fashion that’s very trendy among nostalgia-seekers at the moment. If I were you, though, I’d keep a lookout for the Chanel version, either secondhand or referenced in a new bag.

Saint Laurent Matelasse Chain Strap Shoulder Bag
$2,290 via Neiman Marcus

Saint Laurent Cassandre Matelasse Chain Strap Shoulder Bag

Saint Laurent Cassandre Chain Strap Shopper
$2,350 via Neiman Marcus

Saint Laurent Cassandre Matelasse Chain Strap Shopper
$2,550 via Neiman Marcus

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Ingrid Kim

9 years ago

With those prices, might as well buy a vintage chanel.

Petra B.

9 years ago

So basically, I concluded that Hedi does whatever’s bankable. There’s the leather grungy teen-angst collections that rich teens and 25-unders buy like hot cakes and now there are these bags – suitable for the ladylike rest. I see no identity here.

fgp

9 years ago

This is not nearly as bad as I was expecting from the description. I would’ve never even thought of the chanel when looking at the quilted one and the non-quilted one is similar in very generic ways–no way is it the only handbag to have a small flap or to put its logo in a central location.

Atelieross.com

9 years ago

Maybe I’m not a Chanel fan but these bags don’t really remind me of Chanel. The quilting is more modern and original to me. Now that the house is finally using the iconic YSL insignia again people are complaining that the bags look Chanel? Le sigh…

Amanda Mull

9 years ago

Reply to Atelieross.com

Chanel did quite a bit of chevron quilting back in the era that these bags are referencing.

Atelieross.com

9 years ago

Reply to Amanda Mull

I’ll take your word however regardless of the inspiration, I have to say these are very beautiful bags. I particularly like the simple black shopper in black leather.

aluxe

9 years ago

Wow, the resemblance to the Chanel shopper is particularly glaring in the pic of the black Cassandre shopper bag.

Many of the new SLP bags remind me of the Chevron bags from Chanel, which are a particular favorite of mine and encouraged me to pay attention to that brand’s bags in the first place some years ago.

MollyPete

9 years ago

see, also, Lanvin’s chevron quilted Happy bags.

Justin Jones

9 years ago

Why does Purseblog hate on Slimane so much for designing bags similar to/inspired by Hermes/Chanel?

Brands like Reed Krakoff, Kate Spade, Coach, Tory Burch hardly EVER have original designs and are constantly ripping off bag trends from higher-end designers like Celine, Gucci, LV, Saint Laurent, etc. yet Purseblog never seems to act so highbrow towards them… what’s the deal?

Frankly, I’d rather buy a knockoff by Slimane than a Celine trapeze knockoff by Krakoff or K.Spade.

Amanda Mull

9 years ago

Reply to Justin Jones

None of those brands charge nearly as much for their bags as Saint Laurent. An inspired bag at $500 is a whole different animal than an inspired bag for basically the same as the original. Slimane has raised Saint Laurent’s prices overall, and when a brand demands a premium for its products, it consumers’ and critics’ right to demand premium work.

Hm.

9 years ago

Reply to Amanda Mull

So unoriginality is justified as long as the inspired bag is cheap(er)?

If Purseblog is going to be critical of Slimane’s unoriginality, that judgement should be consistent/applicable across all brands – regardless of whether the bag costs $200 or $2000.

I frankly don’t see how some of Krakoff’s $2-3K Celine + Proenza look-a-likes are any different from what Slimane is doing/charging, yet Purseblog frequently raves about Krakoff.

It’s apparent Purseblog has a bias against Slimane/Saint Laurent. But to each its own.

Amanda Mull

9 years ago

Reply to Hm.

Personally, I believe that $3,000 should buy you a lot more in a bag than $300 should. Creatively, functionally, materially.

It’s simply not true that we’re not critical of less expensive brands for taking heavy inspiration from each other, though. Check out our latest post about Tory Burch: https://www.purseblog.com/tory-burch/tory-burch-saddalrina-saddle-bag.html

We’ve also done two big roundup posts on all the people ripping off Celine’s Luggage Tote over the past year, plus a post on contemporary brands ripping off the Trio. If you’re not seeing our coverage of people doing this other than Saint Laurent, then hey, drop by more often!

More likely, though, is that Hedi has just engendered a lot of strong opinions. People who hate him feel it more with each collection, and people who like him are sick of being criticized for it at this point. I totally get that, but it’s not going to lower my expectations for Hedi. He should do great things, and he very well might.

npm

9 years ago

Reply to Justin Jones

Reed Krakoff doesn’t make copies

npm

9 years ago

Reply to Justin Jones

Reed Krakoff doesn’t make copies

Justin Jones

9 years ago

Reply to npm

Riiiight. His Atlantique and Coach Legacies – So very innovative.
Might as well purchase the originals than shell out 2K for an inspired bag. But that’s just me.

Nina

9 years ago

Looks good for me, I’d rather buy this than that of Chanel which priced ridiculously high. Agree with Justin on how other brands copy higher end brand and no one seems to care but this one they have to get annoyed on.

Harry

9 years ago

I read both you and BagSnob. I am sorry but this story just turned me off and I may not return. Your bloggers are so inconsistent with their taste levels it kills me!!! Can we please go back to the intern who’s fav item of the week was that tacky Gucci monogram shawl trimmed in some cheap rodent fur! At BagSnob she relays a clear and consistent message, you people are all over the place!! I am sorry but hating on these bags but then loving tacky cheap shit?! Maybe Meg’s needs to proof read the articles a bit closer.

Amanda Mull

9 years ago

Reply to Harry

I edit the posts here, and I’m never going to ask any of our writers to change their opinions to fit mine or to fit the party line. We encourage a variety of personal styles and viewpoints among our editorial staff, which is why we always clearly label the posts according to who wrote what. In our opinion, a diversity of viewpoints makes for a more complete perspective on style. (And I actually like these bags, and would carry them, which is a different issue than recognizing that they look an awful lot like some very famous Chanel bags.)

Abbi

9 years ago

The thing that makes me want to ragequit is the fact they call it ‘Saint Laurent’ but they still include the ‘Y’! Its either Saint Laurent (SL) OR YVES Saint Laurent (YSL)! To this day this marketing gimmick just annoys me to no end! I think it may be because im slightly ocd…

Casey

8 years ago

Reply to Abbi

Try to think of it this way: The CC logo stands for Coco Chanel but the label just says “Chanel.” The GG logo stands for Guccio Gucci but the label only says “Gucci.” It’s not a marketing gimmick is Yves Saint Laurent himself used only “Saint Laurent rive gauche” on his labels at the same time as the YSL logo.