Donna Karan Crinkled Leather Satchel

The Donna Karan Crinkled Leather Satchel has been sitting in the New Arrivals section of Saks.com for a while now, and I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about it, if anything.

I’ve been critical of Karan’s bags in the past – many of them seem to be overpriced and under designed. This one seems to have both a reasonable design standpoint and price, but I’m still unconvinced – even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

The asymmetrical placement of the pockets and zippers reminds me in no small amount of the Alexander McQueen Faithful Tote that we took note of back in July. The concept seems to be almost exactly the same in the two bags – a tough, black leather tote made out of a seemingly-random-but-not mishmash of hardware and pockets. So when two bags have such similar goals, I guess the only thing left to do is decide which one is more successful.

I appreciate that Karan used matte instead of glossy leather on this bag. It goes with the industrial/biker feel much better than the glossy alternative, and just tends to look softer and richer in general. So, plus one for her. I don’t like how the handles are set, though, and that may be the chief thing that’s holding me back from really embracing this bag. They seem too wide and thick for their height, and they ruin the proportion of the bag. If it hadn’t been for them, Karan might have finally shown signs of getting the gist of this whole handbag thing. Buy through Saks for $1295.