An exhibit all about bags

The display at Victoria and Albert Museum looks at what a bag says about the owner and their aspirations

London: Whether toted by Conservative leader Margaret Thatcher or “Sex and the City” actor Sarah Jessica Parker, handbags pack a powerful punch, a British exhibition reveals.
The Victoria and Albert Museum is showing some 300 items at the exhibition called “Bags: Inside and Out” that opens on Saturday.

They range from a 16th-century embroidered purse to a contemporary plastic rucksack by British designer Stella McCartney.It looks at the “It bag” craze that kicked off in the 1990s, with women flocking to buy a certain designer style, influenced by celebrity images.

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One such bag on show is a purple sequined Fendi baguette bag once carried by the Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw, played by Parker in the hit HBO show.There is also a formidable leather handbag once carried by Thatcher, known as her “secret weapon”.

Thatcher’s assertive armoury of bags even led to the creation of a new verb: “to handbag”, or browbeat into submission.”These portable, yet functional accessories have long fascinated men and women with their dual nature that combines private and public,” said Lucia Savi, the exhibition’s curator.

An imposing Louis Vuitton trunk from the early 20th century was made for long voyages while a tiny leather bag measuring just 16 centimetres can squeeze in a purse, an opera glass, a notebook and a mirror: all you need for a night at the opera.

Some have become closely associated with celebrity owners, such as Hermes’s “Kelly”, a bold trapezoid-shaped bag. It was renamed after the icily stylish actor Grace Kelly was photographed carrying it. Others include the Lady Dior, known as a favourite of Princess Diana, and the Hermes’ Birkin bag created after the fashion house’s head Jean-Louis Dumas met the British-born actor Jane Birkin on a plane.

A final section of the exhibition examines the techniques used to make bags, including quirkier designs such as the US designers Thom Brown’s handbag from last year in the shape of a dachshund, inspired by his dog Hector.