Valentino’s Spring 2015 Bags are Another Step Further into the Post-Rockstud Era

Any brand would be thrilled to have a line with as much success and longevity as the Valentino Rockstud bags and shoes; the styles have been remade in endless variations since they debuted nearly four years ago, and consumer desire for Rockstuds seems to be going nowhere. They’re something of a new classic; traditionally luxurious shapes reimagined with a combination of femininity and grit. What does a brand do to follow up that kind of smash success? Valentino Spring 2015 offers a few clues.

This marks the third largely Rockstud-free runway collection that Valentino has presented in a row. Although the brand will surely sell the bags in off-runway variations for years to come, the most important task ahead of Valentino’s designers is figuring a way to transfer the momentum on to new ideas. In this collection, the results were largely positive; the big, printed leather satchels and saddle bags were gorgeous, as were the little clutches with hand straps, adorned with two tiny studs. A series of small shoulder bags with double-ring closures was also notable, although similarly sized bags with complicated Y-shaped leather strips felt a little over-designed.

On the whole, the brand appears to have a pretty good handle on how it’ll handle the transition to a less Rockstud-heavy existence, and we’re excited to see where it goes next.

[Photos via Vogue UK]