Longchamp goes beyond the tote
WHILE LONGCHAMP is best known for its most basic totes — arguably its best-selling products — the French company steps into more exciting territory with its Fall/ Winter 2017 collection.
The collection was designed by Sophie Delafontaine, the label’s Artistic director, and a descendant of the Cassegrain family which founded Longchamp in the 1940s as a maker of luxury pipes. She still works with her family — her parents and her siblings — as the company is one of the last labels in France still controlled by its original family. For this season, she took inspiration from the 1970s, mixing elements from Op Art, disco and the hippie-bohemian movement.
Bags from the Madeleine collection, a more refined tote bag, wouldn’t look out of place while viewing works in a gallery, especially in rich tones of amethyst and emerald. The Penelope collection, meanwhile, looks as if it has taken an Op Art work straight out of the canvas with a pattern of triangles. Other bags in the collection are refined boxy envelope-closure handbags in leather, in shades like black, gray, and mustard. The modern classic Le Pliage is shown in another version, this time embroidered with little stars. A bag called the Effrontée (French for “brazen”) is a masterpiece in leather, with cutout shapes evoking antique boxes, and the chain strap doesn’t hurt for the sex appeal either.
In the Philippines, Longchamp is available in Rustan’s in Makati City, Shangri-La, and Ayala Cebu. Longchamp is also available through boutiques owned and operated by Stores Specialists, Inc. located at Greenbelt 5.