Balenciaga Riffs on shopping Bags for autumn 2014

during a runway show, you don’t expect to see models carrying shopping bags. in spite of the truth that women who can pay for the clothes that debut at shows like that of Balenciaga autumn 2014 frequently discover themselves carrying shopping bags, most runways try to divorce themselves as much as possible from the drudgery of really selling clothes, all the way from the performance-art settings to the impracticality of the wardrobe therein. One thing that Balenciaga innovative director Alexander Wang is exceptionally great at, though, is moving product, as well as his autumn 2014 bags are something of an ode to that.

From a distance, it’d be challenging to assumption that these bags were anything much more than vessels for carrying other very costly things, however up close, the details come into stark relief, particularly on the crocodile versions. The handles, instead of twisted paper or webbing, are fashioned out of super-industrial metal cord, the kind you’d expect to see in a lever-and-pulley situation. Structurally, the bags are faithful to their inspiration, best down to the concave gussets as well as folded bottoms. Whether or not a bag with such typical inspiration can successfully fetch designer prices in big numbers is somewhat questionable, however these are certainly the most glamorous shopping bags I’ve ever seen. (Yes, they even beat out Chanel’s shopping bag purse.)

[Images via Vogue.com]