One of the most popular bags in the early to mid-'80s was the basket jelly bag. While it wasn't too bad for groceries, it was much better as a beach bag. The sand that usually collects in more classic bags when you carry towels and other items you take with you to the beach, would indeed easily get out of the holes.
At the time there were also brands that came up with more original designs for these plastic baskets: in the mid-to-late-'80s Fiorucci did a version with palms, waves, a glorious sun and skyscrapers forming a cut out motif.
It was dubbed the "Beach & Town" bag since it was conceived as an everyday bag for all your emergencies in the city, but also as the perfect beach bag.
It was mighty popular in Italy especially in its fluorescent pink shade and, every now and then, rare samples of this bag resurface on Etsy or eBay (prices go between €60 and €199 – the value of the fluorescent pink version is higher than its lavender or black versions). It is actually not so easy to find them in vintage shops as most of those who had the bag, used it a lot, till it eventually fell apart.
In more recent years, different brands and fashion houses attempted to relaunch the humble plastic basket: Fendi did its own luxury version last year and this year also Max Mara came up a plastic basket tote.
The leather inserts are one major update: Fendi put a leather logo on the basked and added a leather hand guard around the plastic handle (the problematic bit of the plastic basket – if you put to many things in the bag and it became too heavy, the plastic handles would cut into your hands…).
Max Mara combined the shape of one of its classic leather bags (the Marine M model) with the plastic basket and added to the bag a leather strap and again a hand guard.
In Max Mara's case the shape of the classic plastic basket was modified and the bag was given a more harmonious form eliminating the lateral pins that anchored the bag in its place (another problematic area for the original baskets as the sides tended to open up or break when the content of the bag was too heavy).
The remarkable thing about the luxury versions of the humble jelly bag is the fact that both Fendi and Max Mara opted for recycled plastic to prove they are eco-friendly houses (or maybe this is just greenwashing, considering that Max Mara also reproduced for its Sportmax line another '80s must - the transparent PVC tote bag with a colour print - and in this case View this photo it didn't seem to care about using any eco-friendly/recycled materials or making the bag more solid around the handles to make sure it would last longer; the price for these bags? €129, which is probably ten times what they pay to manufacture them, considering that, in the mid-'80s, the price range for a transparent PVC bag was between the equivalent of €5-€10 today).
The other not so remarkable thing about the designer recycled plastic bags is the price: the original bags were extremely cheap and even Fiorucci's was extremely affordable (the equivalent of €15-€20 today). Fendi's basket is still available in multiple colours and in two sizes, medium and small, and will set you back €520 and €720 respectively. Max Mara's is slightly "cheaper" at €380.
Now, sure, when we buy a designer item we pay for the logo, the supposed quality of the item and the status that it may give us. Yet these prices (albeit Max Mara worked a little bit more than Fendi on changing the shape and improving the design of the humble plastic basket…) are slightly immoral. Considering the materials used, they should probably be less expensive.
The verdict? If you really want a designer bag, look for something worth your money: it isn't indeed so rare to find designer leather or fabric bags that are cheaper than these plastic ones (a leather knitted bag by Max Mara - View this photo - will "only" set you back €350) and will last longer. After all, just like the original plastic baskets, designer recycled plastic bags may break down and you may not be able to repair them. So, as much as some of us may still feel a bit of nostalgia for the plastic basket (especially for Fiorucci's if, like me, you were fan), let's leave it behind and look for something more lasting and sustainable.
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