It’s time to look back on GUCCI’s best bags during Alessandro Michele’s tenure at the legendary house.
How can the Italian house continue without Alessandro Michele the fashion icon who established many of the label’s modern signatures?
After hearing the news of Alessandro Michele’s departure from GUCCI last month, the fashion world plunged into a frenzy. We’re collectively wondering – how can the Italian house continue without the fashion icon who established so many of the label’s modern signatures we’ve come to know and love?
Michele imbued cult appeal into the label’s designs.
Since taking the helm as Creative Director in 2015, Michele has been instrumental in GUCCI’s climb to the top of the luxury fashion brand ranking. By utilizing social media, the power of celebrity, and the house’s classic style codes, Michele imbued cult appeal into the label’s designs.
GUCCI became the house the industry looked to for fun, inspiration, and innovation.
Michele’s avant-garde runway shows and statement-making designs quickly became a staple of the house’s new identity. From 70s galore and boho chic to the much-anticipated logomania revival of the late 2010s, under Michele, GUCCI became the house that the industry looked to for fun, inspiration, and innovation.
And, of course, Michele introduced a new cohort of GUCCI bags under his reign, many of which have become ‘It’ bags and certified house classics despite all being less than a decade old. So, let’s look at the fashion visionary’s most memorable bag designs over his seven-year tenure at the house.
GUCCI Dionysus
Launched in 2015, the GUCCI Dionysus was the label’s first major handbag success story in some time, and, for many, the design signaled the start of GUCCI’s golden age under Michele.
It features horseshoe hardware detail complete with tiger head engravings inspired by the Greek God Dionysus.
Sculpted to a structured, boxy silhouette, the bag sports a thick chain perfect for both shoulder carry and cross-body wear. It features horseshoe hardware detail complete with tiger head engravings inspired by the Greek God Dionysus for a new take on GUCCI’s equestrian roots.
Its statement hardware and versatility soon made the Dionysus a fan favorite at GUCCI. The bag became popular in a range of logo canvas and leather iterations. Despite its quick rise to cult appeal, it has remained popular season after season and earned classic status.
GUCCI Marmont
GUCCI’s arguably most classic modern design in 2016 when he debuted the Marmont line.
Michele introduced GUCCI’s arguably most classic modern design in 2016 when he debuted the Marmont line. Typified by soft quilted stitching and a reworking of the GG logo insignia first conceptualized in the 1970s, Marmont bags have become easy-to-wear classics.
GUCCI’s Marmont shoulder bag sporting a functional flap opening is undoubtedly the most popular Marmont style. But, eager to capitalize on the success of his creation, Michele continued to expand the line, releasing camera, half-moon shaped, bucket, and top handle bag variations throughout his time at Gucci.
The range is most commonly spotted in ultra smooth matelassé chevron leather but returns season after season in wool, tweed, monogrammed canvas, and more.
GUCCI Horsebit 1955
The Horsebit 1955 revival centers around the famous horse-bit buckle, an emblematic ode to the brand’s equestrian heritage.
A big part of taking over a fashion house with an esteemed heritage like GUCCI’s is paying homage to its roots. Michele understood this. Case in point – the Horsebit 1955 revival. First brought back as part of GUCCI’s Cruise 2020 collection, the line centers around the famous horse-bit buckle, an emblematic ode to the brand’s equestrian heritage.
The curved square shoulder bag with a thick leather strap is the most notable and versatile design from the line, while structured top-handle iterations channel GUCCI’s fan-favorite retro styles like the Bamboo and Sylvie. Michele’s reimagining of the Horsebit 1955 line has helped consolidate Gucci’s association with retro style, and many other labels have followed suit, reissuing their most iconic vintage handbags.
GUCCI Ophidia
GUCCI’s Ophidia collection focuses on the brand’s heritage design elements, like the red and green Web stripe, the emblematic Supreme print, and the interlocking GG insignia.
You’d be forgiven for assuming GUCCI’s Ophidia collection houses the label’s most treasured vintage designs. But the popular line is the brainchild of Michele as part of his Cruise 2018 collection for the house. Focusing on the brand’s heritage design elements like the red and green Web stripe, the emblematic Supreme print, and the interlocking GG insignia, the Ophidia range showcases Michele’s penchant for retro-inspired designs.
The Ophidia line has become a mainstay in GUCCI’s handbag offerings, from round shoulder bags and top-handle styles to bucket bags, backpacks, and duffles. Michele has routinely used the collection’s bestsellers, like the dome shoulder bag and messenger style, as blank canvases to experiment with limited edition themes and new prints and colorways.
A fifth of all luxury buyers—have an *air quote* “CHANEL bag.” And they probably bought their fake CHANEL using Reddit’s repladies subreddit.
It all seemed to happen at once.
There had always been the women who bought luxury handbags outright and then the rest of us, toting around our wonky Zara doppelgangers, hoping to at least mimic the silhouette. Then, one fall morning last year, I looked up from my phone and saw them: four different, glorious CHANEL Flap Bags hanging from the shoulders of four separate women in my subway car. I ride the Metro to work in LA, where 59% of female riders fall below the poverty line, and most make less than $50K a year. The basic Chanel Flap Bag currently retails at $5,000. Did everyone have a CHANEL bag except me?
The answer is no. But many people—actually a fifth of all luxury buyers—have an *air quote* “Chanel bag.” And they probably bought it using repladies subreddit.
The real thing is seen in Dusseldorf.
The subreddit r/RepLadies is a self-described “happy place” for discussing replicas and “fashion at any level.” It has 71.9K subscribers and thousands more lurkers, far from your run-of-the-mill Reddit forum. It’s a community that revels in the granular buying process of finding, locating, and shipping fake goods.
r/RepLadies is a digital world where women attempt to beat capitalism at its own game using ingenuity and resourcefulness.
There are guides on how to get verified on WeChat, how to speak in conversational Mandarin on Google Translate, how to reserve a shipping locker (Guangdong or Beijing?), and how to group items to avoid getting flagged by customs, all in the name of having, for example, a pair of “SAINT LAURENT” bike shorts. r/RepLadies is a digital world where women attempt to beat capitalism at its own game using ingenuity and resourcefulness. The forum would make excellent fodder for a sociological study of compare-despair cycles, self-flagellation, and shopping addiction. And, it’s a cave of wonders where all that glitters is gold-plated…until self-sabotage, guilt, and fear set in.
I first discovered r/RepLadies in the comments section of an article on Caroline Calloway. “If you think Blogsnark has drama [a reference to the snarky subreddit that first flagged Calloway’s bizarre behavior], you should look at RepLadies,” someone wrote. Sure there are the normal posts: the HAUL posts featuring goods fresh from Chinese warehouses, the W2Cs (Where to Cop) posts asking how to find certain goods, and the AUTH posts where buyers share HD photos documenting every stitch, seam, and label from retail stores for factories to reference. “ya’ll have ruined me for most auths now,” one user posted before sharing a gallery of pictures of a LOEWE bag tagged on Imgur as “erotic.” There are posts saluting their favorite counterfeiters or TS (Trusted Sellers) for their art and artistry and FFF (Friday Foto Flex) posts that ask users to incorporate multiple fake items into an outfit to win others’ adoration and support.
“Personally I would ask for a refund for this bag. I don’t think you’ll be happy with the flaws. But follow what your bag heart tells you 😊”
Things get weird around the QC (Quality Control) posts, where recent or prospective buyers ask other Redditors to rank the items they’ve already bought or are considering buying. Users post their own (usually harsh) self-assessment of the bag using a complicated scoring rubric, while active community members are called upon to reassure or critique them because, as the forum’s guidelines state, “We are a community, and you have to contribute and do your part if you want to get something out of it.” It’s all very “bless your heart,” with comments like, “Personally, I would ask for a refund for this bag. I don’t think you’ll be happy with the flaws. But follow what your bag heart tells you 😊” on a faux Louis Vuitton satchel or “The heart is slightly off on bottom left, but I am the person who notices when someone puts on eyeliner!!! Most people won’t notice!!!” on a $350 Gucci Marmont dupe.
RepLadies’ posts often stray from the on-topic buying and selling of luxury fakes.
Before social media, counterfeit items were purchased down back alleys or through word of mouth. “My marriage is a fake Fendi!” exclaimed Charlotte in a 2000 episode of Sex & The City, which featured Samantha dragging Carrie to a San Fernando Valley-based fakes dealer. “Even if everyone else knew it was real, I’d always know that mine came from a cardboard box in a trunk,” lamented Carrie. Carrie’s feeling is apparently universal, as RepLadies’ posts often stray from on-topic buying and selling of luxury fakes.
Many posts read like late-night emotional spirals, with titles like, “Has buying reps made you realize that some of your dream auth handbags are impractical?” or “How to Not Feel Bad About Wearing a Rep.” There’s the drama around customs seizure, with posts like, “Help Rep Fam, Woke Up to This Freaked Out,” or trash talking scammy sellers and adding them to a banned seller list.
This post about jealousy is a sight to behold, with one commenter claiming they avoid certain friends while wearing replica bags.
There are also the thousands of Imposter Syndrome posts like, “How to carry reps in a high profile office?” “What to do if someone asks to hold your rep?” and “Do you tell your besties???” Still, other problems bubble up. “Rep life has ruined me,” remarked one user who “can’t stop QC-ing everything in sight.” This post about jealousy is a sight to behold, with one commenter claiming they avoid certain friends while wearing rep bags and find the RepLadies community more supportive and welcoming than her friends in real life. There are also sociopolitical discussions about child labor. In a post titled “Let’s discuss reps ethics & factory conditions!!” an argument broke out about whether or not it’s even possible for children to make this kind of bags and shoes until someone who works in a factory in China responded by using Google translate. Inside the Cave of Wonder of their creation, it’s almost like their punishment for subverting the luxury fashion economy is a kind of self-sabotage. If they don’t feel guilty about their boss copping the bag, they wonder about child labor or ethical consumption around fast fashion.
The prices are extremely upper middle class, with items ranging from $150 for smaller leather goods to $2000 for “super fake” Birkins that are custom-ordered monogrammed and take months to build.
These fakes aren’t cheap. The prices are extremely upper middle class, with items ranging from $150 for smaller leather goods to $2000 for “super fake” Birkins that are custom-ordered monogrammed and take months to build. A recurring “RepFinance” thread shows these upwardly mobile software designers, engineers, middle-managers, and start-up founders spend thousands of dollars yearly on replicas – often equalling the price of their authentic counterparts.
User Abnruby responded to the internal struggle she used to feel on one post, calling authentic bags “a nice bag you can use to carry your bankruptcy paperwork around in,” before standing up for the Rep Community: “Auth or rep, the whole idea of status symbols is nonsense, but often, participation is survival. I see replicas as a way of subverting that system, and I’m very fucking okay with that.”
I’m not sure I agree that buying $29 fake Gucci slides is a form of anti-capitalist protest when you could be spending QC-rubric-making energy on…not buying things at all. But consumerism is a gilded tomb that many feel requires mandatory, constant participation, regardless of the societal risk of being “called out” as a fraud. The users of r/RepLadies are still working on making their peace with that.
No one needed a designer bag when we were stuck in lockdown. Will we ever embrace the accessory again?
Lou Stoppard muses about the life of luxury designer bags after lockdown. Will look customers for functionality and less status in a bag?
I feel it sometimes, like a phantom limb, banging against my side as I move around the house. I sense it nestled in the crook of my arm as I wander from room to room. It was the onetime receptacle of all I held immediately important: purse, receipts, identification, charger, books, tissues (fresh and used), flask, tampons, a card for that delicious but inexpensive Italian restaurant from that one time a few months back. What was it? My surprisingly roomy yet somehow streamlined BALENCIAGA, of course.
My bag of choice was black leather top handle with gold hardware, bought on sale. Once upon a time, I didn’t leave the house without it. Now, of course, because of Covid-19, I no longer leave the house. I haven’t carried my bag for months.
The tote (or clutch or saddlebag) seems a relic of ages past. Will the bag live again?
Masks are the accessory of the moment if one is looking to define such a thing. The tote (or clutch or saddlebag) seems a relic of ages past, gathering dust in bedroom corners and closet shelves. But is this a permanent change in our wardrobe? Or will the luxury designer bag live again?
“In my pre-coronavirus life, my handbag wasn’t so much a way to carry things around as a way to keep things together,” she said. Lockdown has brought about the inverse; that constantly accumulated junk is scattered with abandon around the home, rather than stuffed in one place. “I now have no idea where anything is,” Ana Kinsella, a freelance copywriter in London, was saying.
Katie Hillier knows leather goods better than most, having worked as the creative director of Marc by Marc Jacobs and consulted for an array of luxury brands. Her work at the former British brand Luella, beginning in 1999, was part of what helped kick off the “It” bag movement of the early 2000s.
The work-from-home tote is your backpack, or the bag that fits on your bike.
Bikes but Bags or can bikes and luxury bags coexist?
“It always used to be about the work tote. What is that now?” Ms. Hillier a former creative director of Marc Jacobs said. “The work-from-home tote is your backpack, or the bag that fits on your bike, or the bag that you take to the market or the grocery store or on the march.”
She observed that, throughout lockdown, people have been finessing the minutiae of their routines — the preferred shopping route, the ideal outdoor workout — and will likely now shop with these in mind. “Functionally is going to be even more important than it ever was before,” she said.
She predicts a market for inventive canvas shoppers, lined in something waterproof.
She predicts a market for inventive canvas shoppers, lined in something waterproof, or crossbody bags with adjustable straps for hiking or cycling; “geeky stuff like that.”
Some of the money that might normally have gone on luxury designer bags has, over the last few months, been allocated to bikes. In March, nationwide US sales of bicycles and related-services nearly doubled compared with the same period last year. Large leather bags are impractical for cycling: anything too long swings forward and lodges between the legs, making pedaling difficult, while shoulder styles risk slipping down.
For most attendees at the recent demonstrations, backpacks or fanny-bags were omnipresent.
Handbags are also unhelpful at protests, which have swelled globally. For most attendees at the recent demonstrations, backpacks or fanny-bags were omnipresent.
In various cities, as protesters marched past luxury stores, there were also few handbags to be seen. Nervous of the unrest, GUCCI, CHLOÉ, LOUIS VUITTON, and others had removed the stock, their usually bombastic window displays stripped bare.
Fashion history does attest to a link between changing handbags and social shifts.
According to Colleen Hill, curator of costume and accessories at the Museum at FIT, fashion history does attest to a link between changing handbags and social shifts. “That is an idea that can be traced back to at least the early 20th century, when women began carrying bags that held items such as cosmetics, cigarettes, a wallet and keys,” she said. “All of these signified growing freedoms for women in public life.”
CHANEL’s 2.55, for example, equipped with myriad pockets and a long shoulder strap, “reflected Chanel’s personal, but highly influential, design ethos that combined practicality with high style,” said Ms. Hill.
Now that I stay closer to home, I can get away with smaller and more functional bags.
Ms. Hill said she expected to see another such shift now. “As a New Yorker, I usually carry a large bag that will hold everything I need for the entire day — my iPad or a book, headphones, some cosmetics, my water bottle, and maybe even a spare pair of shoes,” she said. “Now that I stay closer to home, I can get away with smaller and more functional bags.”
She has been relying on a neat black leather tote, purchased on Etsy, years ago: “It’s subdued, and it feels like the right bag for this moment.”
The question of appropriateness is paramount. Typically, luxury designer bags have been a financial crutch for fashion brands, propping up ready-to-wear sales, and, thanks to their logos, serving as a form of advertising. Whether this will remain true given the recession as well as the related shift in attitudes toward big business and wealth inequality is debatable.
I was transported back to a time of commutes, rushing, air travel, post-work drinks, and a laptop ensconced in leather beneath the table. Suddenly, it all felt so heavy.
Later, keen to remember what had once felt so important, I took my former favorite bag for a walk around the house. We meandered from living room to bedroom and back again. After weeks of living bagless, hands-free, my swag weighing down my bicycle basket rather than my shoulders, I was transported back to a time of commutes, rushing, air travel, post-work drinks, and a laptop ensconced in leather beneath the table. Suddenly, it all felt so heavy.
The post Corona era will not change our attitude toward luxury. For every practical and functional bag, there is a luxury option. People in China gave a glimpse of the new approach and invented revenge buying.
The article was adapted from the New York Times “The Phantom Bag” by Lou Stoppard.
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These days, fake designer handbags got real and are impossible to spot, they will pass authentication experts of resale and vintage fashion online stores.
Our fake designer handbags are made from high-quality materials and authentic leather. The stitching, logos, hardware, zippers, and charms are authentic, reverse engineered CHANEL. These days, fake designer handbags got real and are impossible to spot, they will pass authentication experts of resale and vintage websites. You won’t be able to tell the difference either especially if there is not a retail CHANEL bag next to it.
Of course, most would probably say they’d like to buy the classic Chanel 2.55 flap bag. The iconic piece was first created by Coco Chanel herself when she got fed up with carrying her bag in her arms. To free her hands, she decided to add straps, an idea she took from a soldier’s bag. As with practically everything the iconic designer created, it was a revolutionary take on a classic item, as all handbags for women up until that point were carried. The 2.55 bag was launched in 1955, hence the name. However, it wasn’t until the ’80s, when Karl Lagerfeld took the helm, that the double-C locks were introduced.
Which are the most popular styles?
The medium flap bags or jumbo Chanel flap bags that were selling back in 2000 are still super-hot today. “But if I had to nail it down to a style right now, I’d say the medium Chanel Boy Bag is the most popular.” Sarah Davis of Fashionphileluxury handbag marketplace was saying.“If you want to be sure that your bag will continue to be appreciated over time, stick with the basics,” Davis adds. “Go with a classic black CHANEL flap bag made in lambskin or caviar leather.
Spot the rare collectible pieces
One of the things we adore about Chanel, they release really cool, collectible, super-limited pieces. You have to hold on to them they will match your style over and over again because they’re special and usually have a higher price point out the gate. Some of the favorites are the minaudière clutches, such as Container Minaudière and the evening bag.
Find out which hardware best suits you
CHANEL Back Pack
Sometimes more bells and whistles make a bag harder to remain fresh. All the beading and tweeding looks amazing, but if you care about timeless style, all those extra trappings don’t help. Stick with styles that have the traditional chain strap, a visible logo, and you’re good to go.
CHANEL Backpacks
Chanel’s backpacks have been popular for decades now, but they’re experiencing a particular resurgence at the moment: Here, you can see a fashion blogger carrying one around at fashion week.
CHANEL Gabrielle Bag
CHANEL Gabrielle Bag
Gabrielle is one of the latest additions to the classic Chanel bag lineup. Featuring a double strap that you can wear both on your shoulder and across your body at the same time, it has proven to be an eye-catching version no street style star can resist.
CHANEL 2.55 Bags
CHANEL 2.55 Classic Flap
Coco Chanel debuted the 2.55 in 1929, updating it in 1955 once more, hence the name. It was first introduced to the market because the designer was sick of clutching a bag under her arm. Decades later, it still gives a girl the same amount of happiness, if not more. You can tell a 2.55 from its rectangular fastening and the chain handle (which doesn’t have leather woven into it, unlike the flap).
Classic Flap Bag
The Reissue and the Classic Flap are easily recognized by their locks, straps, and leather. While the 2.55 has a flat tarnished-looking chain, the Classic Flap has straps that are interlaced with leather. The variety of leather is also a quick giveaway. The 2.55 comes in a more creased, distressed leather, while the Classic Flap is available in lambskin (smooth leather) or caviar (pebbled effect)
CHANEL Boy Bag
CHANEL Boy Bag
First introduced for spring/summer 2012, Chanel’s Boy bag is a more tomboyish, younger alternative to the ladylike, mature bags that came before it. The style—named after Coco Chanel’s lover, Boy Capel—still holds up as a mainstay on the street style scene.
CHANEL Waist Bags
The waist bag wasn’t around in Coco Chanel’s time, but it is a style Lagerfeld has come back to again and again (this season included). Celebs like Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid are fully backing the fanny-pack trend, choosing dainty Chanel styles to join the hands-free club.
CHANEL Deauville Tote
The evergreen Deauville tote bag has become a favorite recently. It is classic and feminine while being a very functional everyday bag. It often appears in seasonal launches from time to time in unexpected colors and materials. On their website, CHANEL calls it the Tote or Shopping Bag this season.
CHANEL 19
If there’s just one bag that you would have to get from Chanel’s current collection, the 19 Bag would be it. The bag embodies the very essence of the French luxury house and all its codes, but with a contemporary twist that makes it a modern-day favorite, one’s that perfect for the woman of today and men who are a tad more adventurous.
