V&A TRIUMPH
At last, Bags: Inside Out, the triumphant exhibition at the V&A, has opened, and wow, was it worth wait. Curator Lucia Savi has assembled the most beautiful, exotic show of handbags I have ever seen. Proudly sponsored by Mulberry, visiting handbag aficionados will feel they’ve died and gone to heaven. Some exhibits are illuminated individually, like the beautiful green fingertip frog purse shown in our Bags: Inside Out preview, while other presentations are in fabulous installations, complemented by costume of the era.
Alexander McQueen, Spider Jewelled Four Ring Box Clutch Box Bag. Resort 2020.
Bags: Inside Out coups include the first-ever Birkin bag, Winston Churchill’s despatch box and Carrie Bradshaw’s Fendi ‘Baguette’. There are uptown designer handbags, vintage treasures, sumptuous ethnic purses, vanity cases and military rucksacks. The exhibition really explores our longstanding fascination with the bag.
Featuring innovative designs from Mulberry to Karl Lagerfeld, bags carried by Jane Birkin, the heritage of Hermès to the streetwear of Off-White, and an exclusive look inside the world of the factory and atelier, Bags: Inside Out provides an unprecedented look at this global obsession.
Charlotte Olympia, Calavera skull clutch bag
Capturing the zeitgeist, the exhibition signs off with designers experimenting with innovative and environmentally sustainable materials including a Stella McCartney backpack made from recycled ocean plastic waste and a bag crafted from decommissioned fire hoses by Elvis and Kresse.
Vanity case lacloche frères
There is no contest, however, for my favourite exhibit, the quirky ‘Entomology Bag’ created by Damien Hirst for Prada. The work of art was made in a limited edition of 20, to give a sense of exclusivity as with his other reproducible works of art. Hirst’s fascination with insects and his use of formaldehyde to preserve once-living creatures is referenced in this bag, which includes real as well as embroidered insects.
Mr Bags in collaboration with TOD's 'Unicorn Bag'
In the words of Dr. Lucia Savi, curator of Bags: Inside Out “From a lavish 16th century burse made for royalty to the everyday tote bag, this exhibition offers an understanding and insight into the function, status, design and making of bags across the world and throughout history. These portable, yet functional accessories have long fascinated men and women with their dual nature that combines private and public. By exploring their continuing importance in our lives and as part of the history of design the exhibition highlights the V&A’s mission to illuminate the past and inspire designers of the future.”
Louis Vuitton and Takashi Murakami 'Eye Need You' bag, Spring-Summer 2003. France
Rare exhibits on show include a large embroidered burse used to protect the silver matrix of Elizabeth I’s Great Seal of England, a gas mask bag owned by HRH Queen Mary during the Second World War, Winston Churchill’s red despatch box and Vivien Leigh’s attaché case. A striking Louis Vuitton trunk from the early 1900s embodies how modes of transport throughout history have influenced the changing shape of luggage. The wardrobe of Margaret Thatcher acted as her suit of armour and her handbag was essential to the image of the ‘Iron Lady’. Thatcher’s handbag is one of the leading examples of the bag as a symbol of power.
Margaret Thatcher’s Nuovo Bidente handbag, 1984, possibly Italy
#BagsInsideOut
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