Bag's Inside and Out: the V&A exhibition looks at the history of the handbag

Bags, Inside and Out at the V&A

In a case of truly unfortunate timing, the week before the Victoria and Albert Museum’s blockbuster show celebrating all things bag related – an exhibition over 18 months in the making, one of the largest ever in a museum, with loans from around the world – was to have opened on 25 April, Britain shut down in response to the coronavirus. The show was postponed.

So far, so normal for global cultural events during the pandemic. But then something unusual started to occur.

As the months of stasis stretched on, the whole concept of the handbag, that repository of stuff and signifier of personality, that accessory that had become so obsessively renewable it drove record-setting profits for numerous fashion brands, began to seem irrelevant. And not just because there were fears when lockdown began that bags could be virus carriers.

What was the point of a bag if no one could go out? Why did we ever think we needed so many of them in the first place? What are we supposed to do with all of those extra totes and purses and clutches? According to data from Euromonitor, a research firm, bag sales this year fell 10 per cent to 28 per cent in every region of the world compared with last year.

Suddenly it seemed as if, with 2020, the age of the handbag might actually have come to an end. With the V&A show, when it happened, if it happened, acting as its obituary.

As if.

This weekend Bags: Inside Out finally opens to the public, and what it suggests is that any rumour of the death of the handbag has been greatly exaggerated.

That, in fact, bags have been intertwined with both male and female identity for centuries, and have survived multiple crises, only to return with even more import. That reports from Dior and Hermès of handbags selling out as stores reopen in Asia and life returns to quasi-normal are actually not anomalies, but part of a historical pattern.

That the news of record vintage handbag auctions at Christie’s, the dominant force in the resale market, which recorded a total of $2,266,750 (£1,712,700) during an online sale in July, including $300,000 for a crocodile Hermès Diamond Himalaya Birkin 25, may be a harbinger of the future. That the hullabaloo on social media last week about Houston Rockets point guard James Harden giving rapper Lil Baby a black Prada nylon duffel bag for his birthday filled with very expensive treats was a sign of the times.

“People kept saying it was the end of bags,” said Lucia Savi, the curator who put the V&A show together. “But bags go hand in hand with humanity. We have always had to carry something.”

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How our wardrobes have forever changed due to the pandemic

 In Carolyn Mair's book, The Psychology of Fashion, she says, "in some cases, fashion precedes political change; at other times it follows it." Thanks to the pandemic of 2020, we're very much looking at the latter exception. Overnight, with very little warning, (let's be honest—many of us were working from home and still are and during the height of true lockdown), we've all had to adjust our daily lives and routines. Our need for constricting garments and more formal attire was suddenly made completely obsolete. No more suits, no more jeans, and, in some cases, no more bras.

While some might rejoice in the lack of the aforementioned, it's also meant we have had little reason to dress up—no more sequin dresses for parties, no more wedding dresses either, since they weren't allowed to take place. Conversations about how we shop and why we do it have also become more important with a further emphasis on sustainable clothing. And even now, when some are returning to the workplace, our clothing has had to adapt, even if it's to ensure that you always have a face mask available at all times. It would be flippant to suggest then that even when the pandemic comes to an end, we'll go back to the way we dressed before, as there has been such as a seismic shift in how we live and work.

What, then, has the pandemic really done for our wardrobes? How has it really changed the way we dress, when we no longer have the "normal" rules we usually adhere to? While I'm sure you saw the meme doing the rounds a few weeks into lockdown--a picture of a pope—with all the paraphernalia that comes with that getup—and a line underneath that read: "Me, coming out of lockdown, with all the stupid shit I ordered online”. But honestly, did you really order anything that wasn't useful? 

While we might no longer opt for full-on suits, there are still plenty of Zoom calls to consider, and we're all ensuring that we're more careful with money, which has also changed the way we dress and how we invest in fashion. I spoke to a variety of fashion industry insiders about how this has manifested. From Lyst’s report on what people have been searching—a great way to see how people are shopping—to Sophie Hersan, founder of resale site Vestiaire Collective, which has seen soaring sales, as well as Natalie Kingham, fashion and buying director at Matches Fashion, and Anna Teurnell, head of design at Arket, here’s exactly how our way of dressing has completely changed, and potentially for good. 

Comfort 

I didn't and don't spend all day in sweatpants but I'd be lying if I said I didn't get changed into them to moment I finish work at 6 p.m. and I know I'm not alone. According to Lyst, in April, global searches for sweatpants "grew an incredible 123% compared to the same season last year, with cotton, distressed and tie-dye becoming the most popular search terms."  

Teurnell confirmed that comfort is key for customers right now. "Our collections at Arket are for the everyday life and very versatile, so far they have seemed to still meet our customer's needs. But of course, pieces like great loungewear and clothes that are stylish but not too restricting has become even more important."

Face Masks

Now that face masks are a requirement in the UK, we’ve seen a shift from less medical-looking versions to more fashionable styles.

Lyst has seen an incredible 822% globally in searches for face masks. The Off-White logo mask is the most searched brand when it comes to fashionable face masks but there was another interesting piece of data: "searches for alternative face coverings such as scarves also grew 50% since January. Demand for silk scarves is currently up 22% month-on-month, at a time when the seasonal demand for this category would be much lower."

Corroborating the silk scarf data is Hersan revealed, "from a product perspective, interest in scarves, both silk options from Hermès +68% and Louis Vuitton’s +23% show that our community are seeking face mask alternatives."

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People are apparently buying a lot of fine jewellery to go with their sweatpants

 

Shopping behavior during this worldwide pandemic has been an interesting thing to observe. Obviously, categories like athleisure and household items have seen a surge in demand, but people are also evidently buying more fine jewelry than one might expect. Moda Operandi recently reported a 35% uptick in fine jewelry sales compared to the same period last year, while a number of jewelry brands have shared anecdotal evidence of sales being much stronger than anticipated in months during which tens of millions of Americans filed for unemployment. 

Direct-to-consumer fine jewelry brand The Last Line told us that gift purchases increased by 35% — excluding Mother's Day and graduation — over the past couple of months, and also that its brightly-colored rainbow pieces, specifically, saw 40% sales growth.

Meanwhile, Kinn (another DTC brand focused on more minimal, everyday styles) said that "post-pandemic" sales have been higher than those during the holiday shopping season, and that it saw a 35% increase in new users on its site post-pandemic, compared to the three months prior. The brand also releases regular drops of vintage jewelry and has seen many of those pieces sell out within 48 hours, even during a pandemic.

In April, WWD also reported hearing from a number of retailers that jewelry sales had remained strong, while Bloomberg shared that "bored rich people" were shopping online for $500,000 bracelets amid the global health crisis. But why?

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WTF is happening in the fashion industry right now?

 

Dries Van Noten, SS2019

WTF is happening in the fashion industry right now?

Who’s gone bankrupt? Will fashion week ever return? And what does Jeff Bezos have to do with it all?

Fashion, you may have heard, is having an existential crisis. The coronavirus pandemic has left the industry on lockdown and facing an uncertain future: from fashion week and international travel (cancelled for the foreseeable), to the creation of collections, and how – or where – they’ll be sold. 

A lot of the issues and concerns that the pandemic has brought to light were preexisting: there’s just a second to stop and think about how to actually address them now. “This is an opportunity for all of us to look at our industry and look at our lives and to rethink our values and really think about the waste and the amount of consumption and access that we all, and I include myself, have all indulged in,” Anna Wintour said when discussing the state of the industry on Naomi Campbell’s YouTube channel. “We really need to rethink what this industry stands for.” 

And, so far people are trying to do just that – whether reexamining the role of influencers or trying to reduce carbon footprints. Here, we break down the most important takeaways from the chaos, but whether meaningful change will come from this pandemic remains very much TBC. 

Article here

Can Street Artists Survive a City in Lockdown?

 LONDON — One latest Friday, Nathan Bowen, a graffiti artist, was spray portray a boarded-up storefront in East London.

He was sporting a reflective vest, hoping any law enforcement officials who drove by would mistake him for a builder. But he nonetheless stood out. He was the one particular person on the entire avenue.

In March, the British authorities ordered everybody to remain inside, solely permitting folks out for every day train, to purchase meals or in the event that they had been an important employee. A month later, the lockdown remains to be in power.

Mr. Bowen was not an important employee, he acknowledged, however he mentioned he was offering a essential service, of types. “In this time, you want folks like me to exit,” he mentioned. “If nobody’s doing it, the town has no vibe.”

Before the pandemic, London teemed with avenue artists and performers: Buskers sang to commuters on the Underground, avenue magicians entertained vacationers, graffiti artists lined the town’s partitions.

But now — with a number of exceptions like Mr. Bowen — they’re all gone. What has occurred to the artists who used so as to add a lot life? And when the pandemic is over, will they be capable to return out?

Contents

1 The Artist

2 The Busker

3 The Magician

The Artist

The day that London went into lockdown, Mr. Bowen, 35, had a distinct response to the information from most others within the metropolis. He was strolling house from a pal’s home, he mentioned, when he noticed a storekeeper boarding up their home windows.

“I simply noticed that clean board and thought, ‘Yeah! There’s going to be so many alternatives to color,’” he mentioned.

“For me, this lockdown works in reverse,” he added. “Everyone’s left the town now, so it’s time for the underworld to come back by means of.”

The subsequent day, he went to the shop he’d seen and painted the boards with a development employee in a face masks, holding open his jacket to disclose a thank-you message for the National Health Service.

Mr. Bowen has been going out each couple of days since, he mentioned, and has been shocked to seek out that he gave the impression to be the one avenue artist out. “This lockdown’s a real take a look at,” Mr. Bowen mentioned. “You get all these graffiti guys happening about how they’re so anti-system, so radical, but this comes round and I haven’t seen one little bit of ‘graf.’ ”

Frontline, a British graffiti journal, has been urging its readers to “keep house, keep secure,” because the lockdown started. Even Banksy, maybe Britain’s most well-known avenue artist, has resisted the urge to exit and paint an attention-grabbing mural. In April, he posted an image on Instagram of some stencils he’d finished round his lavatory with the message, “My spouse hates it after I do business from home.”

Mr. Bowen mentioned that throughout the pandemic, he was solely portray work with supportive messages for the National Health Service, Britain’s beloved state well being care supplier. He needed to present hospital employees a lift at the moment, he mentioned, and he felt that items on different topics would open him as much as criticism for breaking the lockdown.

“This is correct avenue artwork, because it’s about communication — selling constructive messages that elevate the spirits,” he mentioned.

On a latest Friday afternoon, no person stopped Mr. Bowen as he painted. A handful of joggers ran previous, giving him a large berth. Two police automobiles drove previous.

The proprietor of the constructing did seem, Mr. Bowen mentioned, however slightly than chasing him off for property harm, the proprietor simply requested him so as to add some balls to the portray to mirror the actual fact the constructing had been, earlier than lockdown, an grownup ball pit.

It seemed like Mr. Bowen would end the piece and not using a hitch, till he encountered a standard drawback for avenue artists in London: It began to rain. Mr. Bowen swore and huddled beneath an awning along with his canine Klae (who additionally wore a reflective vest). He’d simply have to come back again and end it tomorrow, he mentioned.

The Busker

The final time that Kirsten McClure was busking in a London Underground station, in early March, she might really feel a change was coming.

“People had been sporting face masks for the primary time,” the 52-year-old singer-songwriter mentioned, in a phone interview. “People in face masks don’t provide you with a lot cash,” she added.

On March 21, Transport for London, the town’s public transportation company, banned all buskers from its community.

“I used to be actually shocked,” Ms. McClure mentioned. “I didn’t suppose they’d shut it off. I had this fantasy that I’d go and play all these good soothing tunes for medics going off shift. It was simply that bizarre denial everybody’s had.”

Ever since, Ms. McClure, who mentioned she often made half her revenue from busking, has been staying at house along with her husband and son. She was fortunate that she nonetheless had revenue from her second job as an illustrator, she mentioned. Some buskers she knew had began claiming unemployment advantages, she added.

She had seen one busker’s desperation at first hand when she went out to train and noticed an accordionist taking part in subsequent to a line of customers outdoors a grocery retailer. “It was pointless — completely pointless,” Ms. McClure mentioned, “But that’s the busker’s mentality: You go the place the footfall is.”

She threw the accordionist a coin, sustaining the really helpful distance of two meters, or about six toes, she mentioned. But the coin hit the bottom and rolled straight again to her. “I believed, ‘This is terrible! How do you truly give somebody cash with out getting into two meters?’”

Ms. McClure mentioned that she had thought-about busking on-line — acting on a livestream and asking for donations — however had felt that it will be troublesome to drum up sufficient consideration. Instead, she has began instructing herself violin in case she is compelled to put on a face masks when she returns to busking. “I believed it may be simpler to play instrumentals, than sing with a masks,” she mentioned.

She was optimistic, although, that the ban wouldn’t final lengthy. Over latest weeks, Transport for London, which regulates busking on the subway, has despatched its licensed buskers a number of emails telling them the best way to apply for emergency assist from charities and saying that the service hoped to have them again quickly, she mentioned. Busking was additionally a significant element of the town, “an indication of it being joyful and wholesome,” she added.

“It’s going to be actually good for folks to see buskers out once more, simply to take their thoughts off issues,” she mentioned. “That’s what we do: distract and cheer them up.”

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Fashion in Times of Crisis: Then and Now

 It’s the pandemic phrase repeated over and over these days: we’re in a war, we’re fighting a war. It may not be a war that’s raining down bombs and bullets, but there are strangely similar parallels to the last great conflagration of the second world war: a lethal enemy is being fought on the home front as we shelter, in families, in communities, and by heroes and heroines on the frontlines in hospitals and care homes. And meanwhile, it’s precisely the second world war generation — our grandmothers and great grandmothers who lived through it — who we’re all being called upon to protect. As the ’40s speak to current times with a startling new relevance, what that era has to teach us — about them and about ourselves — is suddenly a fascinatingly useful area to explore.

The events of the past few months now shine the strangest light on the meaning of John Galliano’s Maison Margiela spring/summer 2020: it was a collection he dedicated to the public spirit and heroic values of women and men in the second world war. Nurses’ uniforms; army, navy and airforce uniforms; images of female French resistance fighters and undercover agents — it was all there. There’s no way that Galliano, even with his zeitgeist-attuned antennae, could have known about the coming pandemic. Nevertheless, he’d hit on his inspiration for a very good reason. What we need to learn now is a bit of backbone: “Reverence for the lessons of history, and what they taught us,” as he put it. “Stories of hope, heroines and liberation are forgotten as history draws ever closer to repetition.”

Repetition? Now, maybe we're seeing that wartime public spirit flooding back in all the good ways: volunteering, activism, generosity, the at-home creativity and resourcefulness — the discovery of all the strengths none of us realised we had in us even a month ago. Overnight, the relevance to fashion is right there with us, too. From the need to wear protective clothing, to consider and love what we already own, to turn over factory and domestic sewing production to public service, to share, repair and conserve — it goes all the way through to intersecting with the bigger battle of our time, saving the planet.

“Ask yourself, how can I be of service?” were the words Phillip Lim chose when he pitched in to add his voice to a home-recorded Vogue.com video bringing news of how the CFDA/ Vogue Fashion Fund has been repurposed as A Common Thread, in support of Covid-19-affected people in the American fashion community. His stirring choice of phrase was a flag-waving example of how people in fashion — both vast conglomerates and individuals — have been rising to levels of cooperation and creative thinking that were almost unimaginable before the worldwide coronavirus emergency.

It was also a reminder of something that had dropped out of our collective memory during these past two decades of speeding overconsumption: the fact that fashion steps up to play honourable roles in times of crisis, and always has. It did so during the second world war. It did so among designers, women who volunteered, women who adapted creatively to shortages; it was there on the pages of Vogue, and in how its editors played their parts.

So if there’s ever a time to take heart from how our amazing grandmothers and great-grandmothers did it — while still caring about fashion and beauty — it’s surely now. Here are six eye-opening comparisons between then, and how we are now.

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