If it is true that a man's home is his castle then a woman's home is her handbag. Or maybe it is more like her home away from home. Filled to the gills with everything she could possibly need in the course of 24 hours. But with the arrival of bags big enough to accommodate the demands of modern women comes the problem of locating anything in a hurry. With women finding themselves digging through their bags like excavation sites to unearth hidden treasures, luxury brands are coming to the rescue by creating accessories that pop in high-octane hues.
Today the staple handbag items like wallets, keys and cellphones have to compete for space with PDAs, diaries, makeup bags, books and sunglasses. Fashionistas who love their sky-high heels but can't go cold turkey from their flats will inevitably stuff a pair into the bottom of their bag. The same goes for the sneaker-clad businesswoman who does a quick change into pumps before stepping into the office. Young mothers have the unenviable job of not only putting their own belongings into a bag, but those of their children too. This means making room for Kleenex and crayons, snacks and toys and often a change of clothing. All of which is to say that finding those items in the dark depths of a bag has become time consuming and frustrating.
"Bags have morphed into mobile homes, " says Amy-Ling O'Heney, associate accessories trends editor for WGSN, a global company that provides research and trend analysis for the fashion industry. "By becoming both bigger in volume and predominantly compartment-less they are now open vessels for all our precious everyday junk."
This season luxury companies known for the quality of their small leather goods have transformed their collections into bright and bold pieces, colors that will shine out like beacons of light from any bag, no matter how big. No more muted tones of black, brown or beige; now its electric blue or gleaming gold wallets (Fendi, Bottega Venetta), hot-pink key chains (Gucci) bright green eyeglass cases (Hermès) and fire-engine red iPhone holder (Louis Vuitton). These are accessories that will never go unnoticed and will also work well in the summer months when designer see-though plastic bags will come out of storage and onto shoulders, turning the accessories into eye-popping colored jewels amongst the rubble of a bag's content.
One company that has been offering its clientele searing shades for over a decade is Smythson. This year the house is celebrating two major events, the 100-year anniversary of its portable diary and the launch of a new line of handbags.
"Much of our leather business was historically built on core basic colors such as red, dark blue, tan; we thought it would be in keeping with the brand's irreverence to introduce seasonal, vibrant colors," Paddy Byng, the CEO of Smythson, said in an e-mail interview. "We did it for the first time 11 years ago and it was phenomenally successful, so we've continued with it ever since. The vibrant colors have become as much of an icon for us now as our diaries and bespoke stationery," he added, noting that the company's diary business grew 30 percent last year.
To mark the centennial of the diary, Smythson has once again gone with a strong color choice: this time the alligator skin is aqua and comes with a garnet jewel fastening. But the new bag line called the "Nancy," taking inspiration and its name from the tastemakers Nancy Mitford and Nancy Lancaster, went the classic route in the choice of color (black white, taupe, chocolate).
"With the Nancy, we wanted to design a bag that reflected the personality of our customer: discrete, intelligent and understated, someone who doesn't require logos or obvious hardware to boost their confidence," said Samantha Cameron, the creative director of Smythson. But while the colors of the bags might be neutral, the creativity and originality can be seen in the inventive closure and the hand-pleating detail on the front. Thus the bag acts as a neutral backdrop for the company's now iconic and colorful accessories.
The trend for "small leather goods, the current trend of the oversized 'colossal clutch' and the return of the mini evening bag - which are then all transported inside the shell of the oversized 'super' bag - has evolved to become the new trend of carrying high visibility 'bags within bags,' " said O'Heney.
Another fashion brand that has taken to the vivid and vibrant accessories trend is Roberto Cavalli. But the designer has also tapped into the Russian dolls effect of a bag-inside-a-bag phenomenon. This month the designer launched a new pair of sunglasses called the "Eva." Though the arrival of another designer pair of sunglasses on the market is not groundbreaking, its case is. Creating a "two for the price of one" luxury bargain, the shiny satin and leopard-print case can double as an evening purse, transforming a sunglass case by day into clutch bag for night.
With the plethora of "super-size-me" designer bags on the market, most with little or no closing mechanism, it has never been a better time to invest in colorful accessories. Or as O'Heney succinctly put it, "It's all about the filling."
