At the beginning of March we looked at the latest collection by Anrealage and at the way this designer played with proportions. Somebody else has been playing with proportions during the A/W 19 season, but has mainly applied this theme to accessories – Jacquemus.
Actually Simon Porte's bags have been suffering from a "growing and shrinking Alice in Wonderland syndrome" for quite a while now: on his S/S 19 runway there were indeed models carrying huge raffia bags (reminiscent of his vast straw hats…), medium handbags and small ones.
Now small is not enough but tiny is the new black and Jacquemus introduced in his A/W 19 collection super tiny bags in vibrant colours (next to oversized shoulder bags and bum bags) that have turned into the most Instagrammable and Instagrammed accessories from the latest fashion season (the mini bags were also the invitation for the A/W 19 runway show).
Dubbed the Mini Le Chiquito (a resized version of the small Le Chiquito bag), the bags are roughly 5cm long and, as you may imagine, can hold very little (a couple of aspirins and a banknote folded in origami style? A USB stick? Suggestions are welcome).
This is one of those trends generated by destroying linguistic conventions: take something very ordinary and banal like a handbag-shaped keychain (definitely not unseen in fashion history, especially in the '90s) and change its name, call it a bag for example. In this process the object loses its identity and becomes suddenly new and therefore unbearably hip, even though it is in this case highly impractical.
The novel factor and the impracticality generate desire in fashion and therefore this item ends up being particularly desirable, increasing the brand value and producing media revenue.
The most unnerving thing about this design is not the fact that enthusing critics thought this represented a metaphor for travelling light or for a lack of emotional baggage, or that such a piece clearly hints at the status of the person carrying it (celebrities may travel light as their possessions are usually carried by people in their entourages; while impenitent fashionistas often carry a small bag and a bigger bag for their possessions or have a designer coat with pockets large enough to contain all their belongings…).
No, the most unnerving thing is the fact that, design-wise, there is nothing clever about micro bags as they are just tiny doll-sized versions of real handbags.
If you go back in time you will instead find something incredibly beautiful in minaudières. The idea behind these jewel-like cases is attributed to Charles Arpels, of Van Cleef & Arpels. While visiting his friend Florence Jay Gould, Arpels saw her putting her lipstick, powder case, cigarettes and lighter into a Lucky Strike cigarette tin.
Designed and patented by Van Cleef & Arpels, this architectural objet d'art came in precious metals or in shiny black lacquer and included engraved details on the exterior or mother-of-pearl inserts and gems such as diamonds, emeralds and sapphires; inside it instead it was divided into compartments and spaces for several items – including powder compact, lipstick, watch, reading glasses, lighter, keys, comb and mirror, notebook, cigarette holder and pill/candy box. At times the designs were also accompanied by a cloth bag in velour, silk or brocade fabric that protected the rigid minaudière.
The minaudière represented therefore an ingenious distribution of spaces, a way or organising personal items for maximum utility and soon Boucheron, Cartier, Dunhill and Asprey joined the trend coming up with beautiful examples of minaudières that are still fascinating in our times (often spotted at Sotheby's or Christie's, original examples were sold at auctions for sums going from £2,000 to £20,000).
Now that's what we call design, not a glorified keychain. Yet you can expect to see the micro handbag (if it is put into production…) to start swinging from the finger of influencers very soon or it may appear in one of those series featuring designer clothes à la Killing Eve. After all, the Mini Chiquito is what a psychotic deranged killer with a passion for fashion may want to carry, considering that it is big enough to contain a vial of poison. The rest of us living in the real world can instead abandon the idea of the micro-bag, go back to our beloved practical ordinary bags or maybe dream about a superfunctional original vintage minaudière.