Summer chic
The coolest handbags you can get your hands on right now
HANDBAGS are the most important accessories there are – from a practical perspective, of course, because everything ever is stowed in there – as well as the fact that they make a fashion statement too.
And fashion wouldn’t be fashion if there wasn’t a particular kind of bag that’s in vogue at the moment.
“Right now, it’s the slouch bag,” says fashion trend watcher Claudia
Schulz, pointing to a number of particularly casually styled hobo bags being sold. “Essentially, this means ones that sometimes look a little bit creased.”
Slouch bags are pretty informal and relaxed, as the name suggests, and perhaps the best way to describe them is casual.
But many slouch bags are also rather chic. “That isn’t surprising if you consider that these latest bags are modelled on a design by Bottega Veneta,” says Simone Reiner, a fashion editor specialising in bags and accessories for trade magazine Textilwirtschaft.
“That design is called ‘The Pouch’ and is made of fine, soft leather that’s gathered together at the top.”
But slouching isn’t the only way to go casual with your bag, and other designer brands are offering similarly chilled-out designs. A key theme in bags at the moment is the soft material they are made of – that’s what contributes to the crumpled look that is so desired. Mainly, slouch bags on sale right now are made of leather or other fabrics.
The trendy shape of the bags sums up a broader tendency in accessories fashion right now, if you ask Maria Knebel, who manages goods at the purchasing association Goldkrone Lederwaren. “Elegance is in focus this summer, when it comes to bags.” She adds that there is a real trend towards purist, minimalist designs.
That applies to slouching hobo bags and other models too. “Microbags – with space only for essentials such as a mobile phone, keys and a credit card, are also in fashion this summer,” Knebel says.
“These small bags often have a long strap or chain that you can wear across the body,” says Reiner.
That does not mean that backpacks have fallen out of fashion, however. “City backpacks are another type of bag that you’ll see a lot in the summertime,” says Schulz.
“There’s an enormous variety of designs available and often they have handles as well as the classic shoulder straps,” she says.
There are plenty of other shapes too, such as angular box bags, which are a big hit. They look like tiny suitcases or beauty cases, says Schulz.
This summer’s editions often have crocodile-skin patterns or braided details. In fact, you’ll see plenty of braiding this summer, whether on large bags or small. It can be found decorating shoulder bags just as often as it edges the big shopping bags which are also back in fashion, Reiner says.
Handbags are going to be the same colours that are in fashion right now – natural colours such as beige, cognac brown and generally, all shades of brown, says Reiner. – dpa