Iconic handbags revive memories
‘‘I just thought to myself if I amever in a position to do anything like this, I am going to do it.’’
A fascination with Princess Diana has resulted in Upper Hutt being the unlikely venue for a prestigious exhibition of valuable handbags.
The bags, some worth thousands of dollars and made famous by Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy and Grace Kelly are on show at Whirinaki Whare Taonga.
Carry Me: 100 Years of Handbags features more than 50 iconic bags from the past century. Held in private Italian collections, the exhibition won’t be seen anywhere else in New Zealand. Many became classics because of the fashion icons who carried them. Those on display are all originals but are not the bags owned by the celebrities themselves, these being too precious to tour.
Whirinaki director Leanne Wickham said bringing the exhibition to Upper Hutt was partly inspired by her fascination as a child with Princess Diana.
‘‘She was my Lady Gaga, she was the lady in the early 1980s that I looked up to,’’ Wickham said. After Princess Diana died in Paris, Wickham went to an exhibition of her dresses at the Michael Fowler Centre and was transported back to her childhood. ‘‘I just thought to myself if I am ever in a position to do anything like this, I am going to do it. When I discovered this exhibition that talked about Lady Diana and all those other very classy ladies, I thought this will have that same sense of elegance and glamour that we would like to bring to our audience.’’
The collection has been shown in one Finnish museum and was never meant to be toured but Wickham’s connection with an Italian curator – Dr Alex Susanna from Expona – meant she was able to grab it for Whirinaki.
‘‘I am still a little bit in disbelief that it is actually happening.
‘‘We are very, very excited,’’ Wickham said.
With freight holdups due to the pandemic causing delays in getting exhibitions into the country, she said they were hunting for something that would be guaranteed to get here.
‘‘Sea freight was out of the question, things were just getting delayed. It was so hard to organise anything,’’ Wickham said. ‘‘But the beautiful thing about this exhibition is that it arrived in boxes on a plane, because they are just little.’’
More than just fashion, the exhibition is a commentary on changes in society over time.
It is no surprise which bag is Wickham’s favourite – the Lady Dior, named after Princess Diana. She also loves the story behind it.
When France’s first lady was looking for a gift for the princess, Dior offered her its Chouchou bag.
Princess Diana was smitten with the bag and was often photographed with it, and it became the Lady Dior as a tribute to the princess.
‘‘It kind of just epitomised her character. It was beautifully made but it was really down to earth and incredibly practical,’’ Wickham said.
Gucci’s Jackie Bag has a similar history – originally named Constance before the American First Lady Jackie Kennedy was spotted carrying it. It became an instant hit.
Actress Grace Kelly shot the Hermes Postal Bag to fame, with the French fashion house dubbing its bag the Kelly, after she used it to hide her pregnancy from the paparazzi.
Other signature handbags in the collection include the Fendi Baguette made famous by Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw, Judith Leiber’s Crystal Egg, and the Chanel Bag that is said to be one of the most famous fashion creations of the 20th century.
Carry Me: 100 Years of Handbags is at Whirinaki Whare Taonga until August 7.