Iconic it-bags are something of a marketing ploy and if they do well, they usually get tampered with and morph into all sorts of variations in order to reach out to different tastes. Rework the colour, size and texture and the old can easily become new. To change its structure and shape though, is a little more dicey (and could end in tears), but this season, some accessories houses have headed that way and with pleasing results.
Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne with models.
The icons of British bags are undoubtedly those from Mulberry, particularly the Bayswater, since it was launched over a decade ago in 2003. With its simple but practical design and a signature postman lock that could be recognised from 20 paces away, this British beauty has found itself as arm candy of the stylish crowd, the first designer bag young Brits chose to splurge on and something that also worked in the boardroom when dressed in demure colours. Of course, that it was seen on the arms of fashion goddess Kate Moss was also the blessing that sent it to iconic immortality. But as Mulberry’s new creative director Johnny Coca puts it, all icons evolve and adapt to the times.
Previously having been responsible for the success of Celine bags in the past few years, it is no surprise that Coca is also giving Bayswater a contemporary winged silhouette. True, it’s a modern shape that is copied by high-street chains and pack the market, but the refreshing new look does start to make the original Bayswater like the stodgy aunt. Other changes are minimal but add up to a sleeker overall: the mulberry tree logo is gone, the lockman plate is smaller, metal feet are removed and the belt hardware from the side gussets is also removed– all of which amounts to it being lighter in weight. (Hooray!) Plus, the files, tablets and laptops you can carry inside are heavy enough. It’s a reworked legacy done right and we’re peachy keen on this Mulberry icon that fits right onto the over-Instagrammed streets of 2016.
On the clothing side, one of the brands worth keeping an eye on, since the eponymous founder Donna Karan has stepped down from her throne last year, is DKNY. Her departure after more than three decades with her empire was a shock to the industry and now, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne are appointed as the new creative directors of DKNY. It’s a new era for the time-honoured New York label, but both designers have grown up in New York, well absorbing the influences of the brand throughout the years. While we miss the old logo, with the new tall font that brings to mind a nondescript Korean street wear brand, there’s lots of long, flowing shapes and pinstripes that make for sexy and contemporary office wear.
The duo aren’t playing it safe and have consequently delivered a fresh collection that thrives on androgyny and adjustable structures. Nothing is symmetrical and everything is multilayered, with exquisite folds and buttons everywhere that allow you to create flaps wherever you please. Make edgy drapes and hemlines of your own with the removable strip of fabric on the long pinstripe dresses — the colours may only be monochromatic — but the shapes that can be created are nothing short of eye-catching. Maybe it’s because they are men too as Chow and Osborne have inserted cut-outs at all the right places — and in modest but fashionable proportions and without going full-throttle sexy, be it the triangle at the back or with realistic skirt slits. Perhaps they know better where the man’s eye wanders when looking at a woman.
The new Bayswater.
This source first appeared on Bangkok Post Lifestyle.