There are plenty of houses for which the runways shows are but a simple excuse to showcase their accessories. Skim any luxury holding companies annual report and one will quickly discover that while most of the marketing is around ready-to-wear, the accessories are what really supports the house. More often than not up to 80% of the sales are generated from handbags and shoes.
This season handbags called up to carry that weight, with both Proenza Schouler and Jacquemus showcases handbags large enough to travel in. Newcomer Roberta Einer caught our attention with her bohemian needlework tweed together with oversized cording.
Balmain’s clear lucite handbag carrying trays served as a double entendre, holding a handbag and promoting the brand simultaneously. Alexander McQueen’s floral motifs caught our editor’s eyes as a seasonal standout that we expect plenty of other handbag lines to emulate, while Ottolinger’s Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient mashed up genres, printed canvas, and trims to present a seasonal standout.
Of course Fendi, Burberry, Chanel, Prada, Dior, Valentino and Louis Vuitton continue to reinvent their core category with Neo-classical silhouettes complete with logos and monograms.
Here our AARB Magazine’s picks for the Top 50 Handbags of Spring 2019.