Around since 3,000BC, bags are not going out of fashion any time soon
To know the story of the bag we must first look at our primal past. Within the Paleolithic era all human societies were nomadic. Thus, we can only hypothesise that they used some form of bag to transport objects.
Surely, the first items that were moved around were our young who were unable to walk for themselves and were carried here and there. However, nomadic societies at the time had fewer possessions – they moved towards resources. This comes to how we relate to things and the beginnings of personal property, the embers of capitalism perhaps. My loin cloth, not yours. Stanford archaeologist Ian Hodder argues that when people picked up the first tools 2.5 million years ago, they kicked off a cycle of people depending on objects.
The word bag itself comes from the Norse word “baggi” which means load or bundle. We carry what we value and need. Bags were an accessory as far back as 3,000 years BC – a bag-like item existed when humans were cave-dwellers.
“Containers” made from animal skins and plants were used to transport food and weapons.
In the Middle Ages, bags weren’t borne on the back but attached to the belt and were typically very small and only used for carrying coins. By the 1400s, men and women were wearing handbags adorned with jewellery and made with expensive fabrics such as silk.
Not all bag-related developments were positive. In 1965, the one-piece plastic bag was patented by Swedish company Celloplast.
We’re still living with that litter legacy. Paper and cloth were used before, but weren’t as cheap or reliable. Was there a fork in the road with function to the right and fashion to the left?
Then there’s the phenomenon of the purse. This was the preserve of the elite from the Middle Ages up until the Roaring Twenties. Historically, the contents of the bag indicated status, but now the bag itself does that – think Gucci.
Look around the next time you are on a high street. What does bag choice tell us about the wearer? The first-day-of-school look of the backpack has re-emerged as a handy way of holding a work laptop while the shoulder-strap gym bag tells all in the vicinity: “I was at the gym, and I value my health.”
The sophisticated briefcase has all but disappeared from our public settings as the need to transmit paper and documents has declined. Someone rolling a suitcase behind them is quietly announcing: “I’m travelling somewhere.”
The bagless man in the shirt, jacket and jeans on the bus is saying without speaking: “I’m going out, but will be returning to my home within the day.”
The bum bag, or fanny pack, which my parents made me wear when going through airports as a kid, has now resurfaced as festival chic. Revealing its function ultimately is the guiding light for fashion predictions when it comes to the bag.
The bag contains the secrets of what we hold dear. It displays our reliance on stuff. Our materialism and mobile nature suggests the future of the bag is secure.