Style & Usage
Street Couture
High Fashion Bags and the Girls Who Wear Them
TEXT BY KARENA GUPTON AKHAVEIN
PHOTOGRAPHY BY IVO DE KOK
Fashion week is the most exciting moment of each season, influencing the trends that will eventually trickle down to the hoi
polloi. For an ever-increasing number of us, however, the real
action is not on the runways, but on the sidewalk: what are our
street fashion idols wearing? Thanks to Instagram, we can enjoy
that fashion-show sidewalk inspiration all year, as our favorite
bloggers, photographers, models, it-girls, and editors share their
current fashion obsessions.
To further fuel our fervor, the Tassenmuseum Hendrikje
in Amsterdam will host an exhibition called Street Couture.
Founded by bag aficionado Hendrikje Ivo, the museum is located
in a historic home on the Herengracht Canal and houses, in its
permanent collection, over five thousand bags ranging from classics such as Hermès, Gucci, and Chanel, to antique purses dating
back to the Renaissance era. There are also temporary exhibitions featuring the works of mainly Dutch handbag designers.
Street Couture is a sharply curated show that seeks to explore the
elements that differentiate couture from street fashion around
the world. The realms of design, music, sports, and international
pop culture collide in many of the fascinating looks devised by
street fashion stars, which in turn re-inspire fashion designers.
Anyone who has marveled at the insouciant manner, in which a
style-savvy blogger pairs a Prada bag with Adidas sneakers, or
an Hermès satchel with a denim overalls, or a Chanel purse with
knee socks, will appreciate this exhibition’s scope. Part of the
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show features classic purses from the most illustrious accessories lines, paired with exciting street looks ranging from Japanese
manga to American ghetto fabulous and everything in between.
The other part of the exhibition focuses on how street style has
in turn influenced bag designers. Camo-print Valentino, popart print Dior, and Fendi clip-on embellishments all fall under
this category. In honor of this exhibition, SOMA examines a trio
of international street-fashion stars, decrypting their style and
examining how they style their handbags.
First in line, Chiara Ferragni. The Euro-chic Italian blogger
behind The Blonde Salad, Ferragni is currently designing a line
of accessories: shoes, backpacks, and phone cases, which exploit
her unique pop-art aesthetic. Her favorite bag of the moment,
if one is to judge from its presence on Instagram, may well be
the polyvalent Chloe Drew Small Shoulder Bag in black, which
easily pairs with looks ranging from daytime casual to evening
glam. However, the photogenic Ferragni doesn’t tend to play
favorites for long. She will sport pop-art print Louis Vuitton
bags or her own glittery, winking-motif backpack, paired with
Superga sneakers and Anine Bing or Balenciaga Leather jackets.
She’s also worn a structured Proenza Schouler bag with metallic
Stella McCartney brogues and a fluffy jacket, an H&M sweater,
and a mini Hermès Birkin. The Hermès bag is a classic, but the
modern thing to do is to personalize it with dangly charms from
Louis Vuitton and Prada, fluffy fur pom-pom keychains by Fendi,