Bags get bragging rights

Fashion File: Bindu Gopal Rao guides you through the latest trends

Seasonal launches

Along with clothes, fashion houses launch bags for the season. For the spring summer season Tod’s reinterprets pure luxury with the new D Bag as a baulette or tote. With attention to detail, precious leathers, contemporary design and functionality, this is the must-have for the season. The G bag is utilitarian, spacious and versatile, available in brushed calf and contrasting trim. The collection is completed by a shopping tote with saddlery details in tan leather.

Likewise, Da Milano recently launched an elegant range of lamb skin handbags for women as part of their Spring Summer 2010 collection. The collection includes classic day bags, stylish satchels, shoulder bags and totes. The sassy handbags, designed with great attention to detail, have zippered compartments, elegant chain handles and stylised gold-plated hardware that reflects opulence. 

Demure delights

Bulchee’s collection, targeted at the modern working woman, embodies a professional outlook to accessories with no distracting design elements. The bags are spacious with multiple compartments and organiser pockets that allow you to carry a lot while being well organised. There are small structured bags that are stylish yet demure, multi pocketed bags with glossy texture that is functional enough for office and stylish enough for a night out, foldable office bags with detachable shoulder straps, stylish totes that are very functional to organise the huge pile of work stuff with a stylish belt that runs around the bag, and a large tote-cum-laptop bag.

Louis Vuitton has also launched a three-variant women collection. The first of these features outsize reporter, satchel and duffel bags in dégradé monogram denim — bleached by the sun — in vivid shades of pink, orange green and blue. In the second theme, which plays on contrasts of fabric and texture, a black-on-beige monogram jacquard is shot through with lurex and fluorescent threads.

A large shoulder bag and a zippered sports bag are accompanied by a neo-duffel bag — a key shape this season — in two sizes with day-glo leather squish-down tops and multiple handles, enabling them to be carried in different ways. Another duffel bag features in the third theme, in supple, lustrous monogram-embossed leather with contrasting smooth leather trim.

Trends
Nina Tayal, promoter, The GRAB Store, says: “If you have the perfect bag then you could dress in any outfit and look gorgeous. It is very important to match your handbag with your outfit.”

Bright colours rule the roost this season. Da Milano’s lamb skin handbags are available in striking colours ranging from hot pink, apple green, canary yellow, tangerine orange, angelic white, wine red, and tones of black and brown. Bulchee’s bags come in chic yet smart colours of black, brown coffee, beige, olive, red, white, purple, green and apricot. Colours like purple, fuschia and white are in.

“Bold prints and slouchy casual shapes with multi functional/ innovative pockets like helmet holders and different innovative ways of wearing the bag on the body with multiple handles are in,” says Komal Jyoti, brand manager, Fastrack Accessories.

Louis Vuitton’s utilitarian ‘rain bag’ with fluorescent pull ties is printed with a vintage  logo, while a transformable clutch recreates the ready-to-wear’s geometric-ethnic print in a patchwork of materials.  At the richest end of the scale, the season’s collector piece takes the humble rucksack to unprecedented levels of luxury in lurex jacquard with a crocodile flap, a swinging furry foxtail charm and an abundance of leather tassels and headphone cables — the result of long and painstaking work by hand.

Moving away from the classic black or white bags to more fashionable blues, reds, yellow, cherry, burgundy and purple in matte, the Fossil handbags lean toward functionality, comfort in carrying, while still looking smart and trendy.

“Punk bags with metallic straps are the highlight of the season. So are tiger prints in white and black colours. Fringes in browns and blacks are sure to grab attention. Soothing summery colours are used for Madame’s collection like ivory white, pink, beige and light metallic. Our upcoming collection, which will hit the stores shortly,  will have canvas printed bags with floral prints in summery hues to make you look cool in the hot weather,” says  Akhil Duggar, creative director, Madame.

Kamakshi Kaul, head designer, Max Fashion, says: “Framed bags and bags with natural fabrics are in. Animal skin textures for bags and wallet are also in vogue. Totes and hobos which look unique and smart are the latest style.”

Clutch cult

The versatile clutch is another trend that has caught on in a big way. As something that can be teamed up with both Indian and Western outfits, these bags are handy yet functional from a usage perspective.

Clutches in Max are available in animal skins design, floral prints, animal prints, face prints, rivets and eyelets, colour pops and slashed styles.

Debdeep Sinha, head of Planning & Marketing, Reliance Footprint, says: “Clutches are the hottest trend in this season. Longer shoulder straps on the smaller bags and handheld hobos with embellishments like chains, studs and sequins are in trend. Colours like shiny metallics, red, grey and animal prints are in. Oversized bags in all shapes and classic shapes are very much in fashion.”

Clutches from Fossil are chic and simple, contrasting colour stitching and pop-stitching gives the exterior a versatile and stylish look. So, grab a bag and make a fashion statement.