Images via Vogue.com

I keep waiting for Reed Krakoff to hit the sophomore slump with his eponymous line, but he just keeps hitting things out of the park. How well Krakoff, the president of Coach, has done launching the brand gives me very, very little sympathy for other large companies that don’t do as well with their bag lines. When you have a clear vision of what you want and you commit the resources and time to doing things the right way, some fantastic pieces can come out of it.

Largely, that’s what Reed Krakoff Spring 2012 is. The collection is heavier on exotics than previous seasons have been, but the signature Krakoff tailoring is still there. He chose a very modern color scheme for the collection, and for me, the bright bags are the clear standouts. Don’t get me wrong, though; I’d be happy with any of them in my closet. (more…)

Images via Tod’s

For most people, I think the image that comes to mind when one thinks of Tod’s is that of comfortable driving shoes and fine, if very traditional, leather handbags. It’s a company that makes the kinds of things that everyone’s mother would be overjoyed to receive for Christmas. That, in and of itself, is also a bit of a problem; how does Tod’s make itself relevant to its next generation of customers?

It looks as though the company would like to start answering that question with Tod’s Spring 2012.The collection represents a modern take on the brand’s most popular bags, the Bauletto satchel in particular, with versions that run the gamut from only slightly left-of-center to full-on crazy. Crazy relative to the classic bags for which Tod’s is known, anyway. I see some very interesting options in this lineup that I’d love to wear myself. (more…)

Photos via Women’s Wear Daily

It would be easy for a brand in flux to get a little bit lazy with its accessories for a resort collection while new creative talent got comfortable and plotted a new course for upcoming collections, but Chloe Resort 2012 doesn’t strike me as lazy at all. When creative director Hannah MacGibbon was shown the door after a disappointing collection for Fall 2011, I assumed that the earliest improvements would probably be seen on the Spring 2012 runway. Perhaps that’s not the case.

Chloe’s resort bags aren’t revolutionary, but the have a cleanness and confidence that the brand’s previous several accessories collections have lacked. And while there’s a Paddington reboot in the mix, a habit of the brand that tends to irk me, the bright pink and minimal Paddington markings mean that, at the very least, it actually feels like a genuine reboot instead of a cynical cash grab. I’m suddenly feeling a lot more excited about Chloe’s upcoming spring show. More photos after the jump. (more…)

When was the last time you looked at a Marc Jacobs bag and thought, “Whoa, that’s a great bag?” Sometime around the entré of the Stam, right? Well that’s exactly what I said, out loud, by myself, to my computer in sudden fit of excitement when I saw the colorblocked satchel at top left from Marc Jacobs Resort 2012. I mean, that’s a good bag, right? My level of enthusiasm for that design has left me confused and excited.

I mean, let’s be real here; most handbag addicts can spot a Marc Jacobs bag from a mile away, and whether or not that’s a good thing depends on how much you like the designs that Jacobs puts out every year. They often don’t vary much from what we’ve seen before except for a runway bag or two, and there are certainly some repeats in this group, but the new stuff looks fresher and more exciting than it has in more than a few seasons. Let’s hope that this is but a small preview of the accessories to come in the brand’s Spring 2012 presentation. More photos after the jump. (more…)

We all know Alexander Wang as The Boy King of Downtown Cool, which means that his clothes and accessories are often black, grey and sullen. And while some of us (read: me) like that look, it doesn’t really fit in with the idea of a resort collection or what most people want to wear when weather first starts to turn warm. And apparently Wang has figured that out, because Alexander Wang Resort 2012 has a lot more color to it than we’ve come to expect from the young designer.

Bright blue is the star of the show here, accented by sharp silver hardware that Wang’s fans will remember from his previous two collections. There are one or two new shapes in this series of bags, but there are also some fun takes on old favorites like a pale yellow Diego Bucket Bag and Wang’s new small leather goods in a variety of colors and textures. And yes, there’s some black and grey. Of course there is. More photos after the jump. (more…)

Even though Chanel is a brand with a rich history and plenty of iconic aesthetic elements from which to draw, I think we all get fatigued of flap bags and black and ivory color schemes after a while. Because Karl Lagerfeld is a man worth his enormous paycheck, he seems to be able to sense that feeling within his client base and zig when everyone expects him to zag, which has lead to a freshness and creativity in the past several Chanel collections that continues to delight me.

On Friday, we introduced you to the Outstanding Pieces range from Chanel Paris-Byzance Pre-Fall 2011. Today, we’ve got the regular line of handbags, which are pretty great themselves. There’s a lot of “Chanel” in these bags, more so than in the Outstanding Pieces, and certainly some of them are bread-and-butter sales leaders. But the change in tone that they, along with the bags from the two preceding seasons, represent is a smart and welcome one, even if it’s subtle. (more…)

With head designer Stefano Pilati’s relationship with Yves Saint Laurent bigwigs rumored to be growing ever more tense, it’s always interesting to see what Pilati will turn out when it’s time for a new collection. I was lukewarm on his work for Fall 2011, but Yves Saint Laurent Resort 2012 is a whole different story. Not only were the nautical-chic clothes absolutely lust-worthy, but the bags and shoes, which are most brands’ chief moneymakers, will likely retail very well.

The bag that I’m most excited about is the Yves Saint Laurent Chyc Cabas, which you can see in one of its iterations above. The roomy tote has both functional and aesthetic appeal, and the frayed red straw accented with white leather and gold hardware makes me want to leave my apartment and make friends with someone who owns a boat. This collection will hit stores right around my birthday. Hint hint. (more…)

While paging through the handbags from Fendi Fall 2011, I kept waiting for the brand’s trump card. For the bag that would pull the whole thing together and make me sit up and pay attention. And while there are some very attractive options from the collection, unfortunately that bag never came. Perhaps after Spring 2011’s stellar lineup of Fendi accessories, I was expecting too much.

Fall continues some of the biggest hits from that line, including the ladylike multicolor satchels with crocodile flaps, and it also introduces several more multicolor options in the form of slouchy totes and shoulder bags with elongated straps. Some of these asymmetrically shaded designs work better than others, and I hope to see them hit retail in bright combinations as well as the neutrals seen here. For now, my collection winner in the blue patent shoulder bag that you see above. (more…)