Luxury Paper Shopping Bags Are In Demand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The paper shopping bags of high-end fashion labels have become on-trend items for everything from ferrying lunches to appearing in TikTok backgrounds.

 

To the uninitiated, it may seem like lovers of high fashion are getting up earlier these days. But the plethora of designer paper bags seen on the bus in the mornings often do not contain purchases from Chanel or Prada – but commuters’ packed lunches.The trend brings a whole new meaning to the term “designer bag”, with even Birkin-loving Kim Kardashian seen clutching one at Balenciaga’s show in Los Angeles this month. 

 

On resale sites such as eBay, empty paper carrier bags from luxury brands such as Chanel and Balmain can sell for as much as £65. Prices for a paper Hermes bag start at £45, while the box begins at £200. A Smythson bag with matching tissue paper tends to go for £40, while a set including eight different brands – spanning Gucci, Burberry and La Mer – starts from £114. 

 

Kardashian’s particular bag was later revealed to be a collaboration between Balenciaga and Erewhon – an expensive organic grocery store in the US that has become a mecca for health freaks. It has become the most high-profile example of the unlikely movement for carrier bags that is sweeping high-fashion, as well as the secondhand market.

 

Even an advertising campaign for the luxury brand Bottega Veneta showed the American rapper – and Rihanna’s husband – ASAP Rocky carrying an ersatz brown paper supermarket bag, which he filled with chard and orange chrysanthemums. Dubbed the “Medium Brown Bag”, it is made from suede-lined calfskin – and retails for £1,800. 

 

It riffs on the department store chain Bloomingdale’s, which first launched its paper “Little Brown Bag” in 1973. Instantly recognisable, it became a signifier of an aspirational American lifestyle. A PVC version followed in 1995.

 

There are many reasons for consumers buying into the trend via resold £10 paper Chanel bags on resale sites. Some buy them to display in their homes, the Gen Z equivalent of fine-bone china. Others use them to create an illusion of wealth – either in public or on social media. Instagram and Tiktok is awash with influencers carefully placing them in the background or being incorporated into footage of shopping hauls and “unboxing” videos – in which users dramatically undo ribbons and peel back tissue paper to reveal their latest purchase. 

 

Some people buy real designer carrier bags in which they give fake designer bags as gifts. Others may have bought a real designer item on a secondhand site and want the corresponding carrier bag to match. There are even TikTok hacks for turning a designer paper bag into a more durable bag by wrapping it in plastic.

 

In 2021, a study found that a group of 17 black-and-white paper Chanel carrier bags sold for £265. December is one of the busiest months, with Tiffany’s signature blue bags and Jo Malone boxes in particularly high demand. 

 

Isabelle Szmigin, a professor of marketing at the University of Birmingham, says carrier bags are tied up with identity. “They have value and substance because it implies that you have some connection with that brand and that means credibility, especially on social media”, she added. 

 

One eBay user, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a VIP customer at Harrods and started selling her old paper bags as a side hustle during lockdown. She says as a VIP she regularly receives purchases in limited edition carrier bags that differ from those given to general customers, making them particularly desirable. 

 

Another user, Helen Pacey recently sold an empty Christian Dior paper bag and matching gift box that had originally housed one of the brand’s perfumes for £85. She said: “Demand for these type of paper bags really took off when the plastic bag levy was introduced. People now see them as a luxury. Many are embossed and tied with a ribbon. It makes you feel more special”.

Met Gala 2022 Red Carpet

It seems that social media has killed good taste at the Met Gala! 

It was once touted as the epitome of chic, but celebrities attending New York’s premier fashion event are now more likely to be playing it for laughs – and Likes! 

If you don’t know, the Met Gala is fashion’s biggest night of the year. Returning to the traditional first-Monday-in-May slot on the social calendar for the first time in three years, i.e. May 02, this year’s party made it abundantly clear that the fashion world is not remotely chastened, dimmed or otherwise humbled by the pandemic. 

From Katy Perry as a hamburger to Rihanna as the pope, the party has given us the most unforgettable celebrity looks of the past decade, and this year’s event showed no sign of slowing down. 

Modern party dressing, trailblazed by the Met, is dressing up as fancy dress rather than dressing up as an aspiration to elegance. Fashion’s biggest night of the year is now entirely about looking spectacular, rather than stylish. 

Much is made of the ultra-exclusive invite list of the Met Gala where individual tickets are reported to cost over $30,000, but what happens inside the party is entirely beside the point. 

Actually, the real party happens on Instagram, and everyone is invited. Kim Kardashian’s 300 million followers saw her in the very dress Marilyn Monroe wore to sing Happy Birthday to JFK in 1962 before her table mates did!

Kim Kardashian in Marilyn Monroe’s ‘happy birthday’ dress. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue 

The cartoonish wackiness is so prevalent. Jessie Buckley, in a Schiaparelli suit, wore a fake moustache. Gigi Hadid wore a burgundy latex bodysuit under a vast puffer jacket. Dakota Johnson and Jared Leto came as identical twins, down to their red satin bow ties and crystal hair barrettes. 

And beneath all that irreverent silliness, the pursuit of impossible levels of physical perfection is a deadly serious business. Kim Kardashian revealed that because Monroe’s dress was a historical artefact and could not be altered, she lost 16lbs in three weeks to fit into it. 

Cara Delevingne, taking the dress code of Gilded Glamour literally, removed the top half of her Dior morning suit on the red carpet to reveal nothing but gold body paint with matching nipple covers. Emily Ratajkowski, similarly, chose vintage Versace – it was last worn by model Yasmeen Ghauri on a 1992 Versace runway and making its Met Gala reappearance a moment around three decades in the making – made entirely of beads and chains above the waist, without even a wisp of fabric. The approval of the arbiters of good taste has been replaced by social media’s rapacious appetite for bare flesh.

Cara Delevingne: Literally gilded. Photo: Matt Baron/Rex/Shutterstock

Emily Ratajkowski: Vintage Versace. Photo: Neville Marriner/ANL/Shutterstock

Jessie Buckley goes all out in pinstriped Schiaparelli with a fake moustache. Photo: Matt Baron/Rex/Shutterstock

Dakota Johnson with a twinning Jared Leto and Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele. Photo: John Shearer/Getty Images

Bella Hadid in a Burberry corset dress. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue 

Amber Valletta shines. Photo: David Fisher/Rex/Shutterstock

Ariana DeBose celebrates her Oscar win in Moschino. Photo: David Fisher/Rex/Shutterstock

I’m glad Kate Moss didn’t follow the crowd! The supermodel’s attire was a floor-length black gown by Burberry, accessorised with old-school understatement, with sheer black tights, heeled sandals and a red lip. That's my kind of beauty! 

Kate Moss: Back to black. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Givenchy's Noose Necklace at Paris Fashion Week

French fashion house Givenchy came under heavy fire at the Paris Fashion Week show (September 27-October 05, 2021). 

Givenchy's Spring/Summer 2022 ready-to-wear collection by creative director Matthew Williams (left) in collaboration with American artist Josh Smith on Sunday was a display of artistic extravagance. The collection, and Williams' debut show in front of an audience, featured an array of styles that didn't necessarily seem to be a part of the same collection but the range offered something for everyone. 

The collection included monochromatic ensembles, thigh-high boots, plaid, ruffles, peplum, exaggerated shoulders, corsets, acid wash pants, mesh, sequins, muted hues of mint green, lavender and yellow, alongside bright reds, acid green, and pieces, courtesy of Smith (right) that showed off busy graffiti-style art featuring the Grim Reaper, Halloween-esque imagery, clowns, bones and more. 

Not to mention the accessories that seemed to be designed to evoke shock: a milk carton bag, a bottle clutch, barbed wire rings, and definitely one design that Williams' could have been skipped as the collection was sure to get enough buzz without it as well – neck accessories that had knot designs bearing a striking resemblance to nooses. 

Three models wore gold and silver versions of the accessory at the said show. 

It comes two years after Burberry said sorry for a hoodie featuring a noose. 

When the Burberry debacle erupted in 2019, one of their models, Liz Kennedy, wrote in a long post on Instagram: "Suicide is not fashion". 

Fashion Instagram account Diet Prada wrote: "You'd think the industry would've learned not to put things that resemble nooses around a model's neck". 

Honestly, in which world is having a noose hanging on a woman's neck considered as fashion, #Givenchy? 

Lisy Roxby, a representative of the UK-based suicide prevention charity Papyrus, told The Guardian: “Those who have a personal connection to suicide, whether this be their own experiences or having lost a loved one, can be triggered by such imagery and brands have a responsibility to ensure that they are not causing harm to their audience”.

#IsupportXinjiangcotton

On Monday, I had blogged about this malicious anti-China campaign about Xinjiang cotton that is a total lie. 

Rightly, anger is brewing in China over the international brands boycotting Xinjiang cotton, linking it to claims of slave labor. 

And fashion giant H&M was the first to come under fire. In October, the Swedish retailer had said on their official website that they did not source products from Xinjiang due to “reports on forced labor and discrimination of ethno-religious minorities” in the country's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. 

This statement came to light again last week, fueling Chinese netizens’ fury and who called on a boycott against the brand. 

The flame quickly spread to Burberry, Adidas, Nike and some others – as old statements they made in relation to the ban on Xinjiang cotton resurfaced. 

An online campaign on Sina Weibo came out in support of Xinjiang cotton – and as of two Fridays ago, #IsupportXinjiangcotton has already gained 4.2 billion views! 

Consumers everywhere should stand in solidarity with the Chinese and cold-shoulder H&M as well as other foolish brands that stupidly support the trumped-up story about Xinjiang cotton!

Noose Hoodie

It’s Burberry’s turn now. 

The fashion brand has to apologize for featuring a hoodie with a noose around the neck – it was in a collection called Tempest which was on the runway at London Fashion Week on Sunday. 

And one of its very own models, Liz Kennedy (right) chastised Burberry in a long post on Instagram in which she said: "Suicide is not fashion". 

And she added: "Let's not forget about the horrifying history of lynching either". 

The February 15-19 show featured "rebellious youths" scaling walls in one space and Burberry's creative director Riccardo Tisci dedicating it to "the youth of today". 

Kennedy, who had been part of the Burberry show but didn't wear the hoodie, wasn’t impressed – she said the design was "not glamorous nor edgy". 

She wrote: "How could anyone overlook this and think it would be okay to do this especially in a line dedicated to young girls and youth? The impressionable youth. Not to mention the rising suicide rates worldwide". 

Liz was rightly peeved. "I had a brief conversation with someone but all that it entailed was 'It's fashion. Nobody cares about what's going on in your personal life so just keep it to yourself'. Well I'm sorry but this is an issue bigger than myself. The issue is not about me being upset, there is a bigger picture here of what fashion turns a blind eye to, or does to gain publicity”. 

She told her Instagram followers she had tried to bring up the issue in the dressing room but was told to write a letter instead. 

Burberry boss Marco Gobbetti did say the brand was "deeply sorry for the distress" caused, adding: "It was insensitive and we made a mistake". 

But really, did he really expect us to believe him?

Burn Burberry Burn

In 2017, Burberry Group PLC burned over $37 million worth of unsold clothes, perfumes, bags, and other goods. 

And over the past five years, they've reportedly incinerated over $117 million worth. 

"The reason they are doing this is so that the market is not flooded with discounts", Maria Malone, a fashion business professor at Manchester Metropolitan University, told the BBC. 

"They don't want Burberry products to get into the hands of anyone who can sell them at a discount and devalue the brand". 

A clear business rationale but unfortunately, it is still very wrong. In fact, they’re sending the wrong message to society at large. 

Lu Yen Roloff of Greenpeace says “Burberry shows no respect for their own products and the hard work and natural resources that are used to make them". 

Of course, the British label is promoting wastage. And it is also socially and environmentally irresponsible. 

Actually, Burberry is not the only guilty party. 

In fact, luxury retailers are believed to destroy surplus products to protect their intellectual property and brand value.

In other words, they do this to prevent their wares from being sold cheaply on the counterfeit market or ending up on the grey market with unofficial but legal retailers who fall outside a brand’s approved distribution channels. 

For sure, Burberry and the other luxury labels have a warped understanding of brand value because it is not just about exclusivity – but about doing what is right. 

Did Burberry, for example, even consider donating leftovers to homeless shelters and other charitable organizations? 

And if it is so worried about protecting its brand – it could have de-branded the said items. Just snip away the labels. Then anonymously give them away.

The good deed will earn it good PR and this, in turn, can only benefit the brand. 

In Burberry’s case, in a bid to avoid tarnishing the brand, Burberry ends up tarnishing the brand. It's so myopic.

Detox Fashion

Credit: Trendstop

It’s time to detox! 

Let's commit to Greenpeace's "Detox My Fashon" campaign.

Around the world, an expanding movement of people are using their creativity, design skills and purchasing power to demand fashion without pollution. 

United by a shared belief that the clothes we wear should carry a story we can be proud of – activists, bloggers, fashionistas, designers, scientists and models have been pushing, persuading and proselytizing many big brands to commit to toxic-free fashion.

Since 2011, the environmental organization have been relentlessly shining a spotlight on the use of hazardous chemicals within the clothing industry. 

In fact, Greenpeace Germany have now published an update of the results in the form of a paper dubbed “Destination Zero: Seven years of Detoxing the clothing industry”. 

According to this report, a total of 80 major fashion brands have made progress in their pledge to remove hazardous chemicals from their production lines by the year 2020. 

They singled out fast-fashion companies such as Inditex (which owns the high street chain Zara), H&M, Benetton and Fast Retailing (which owns Uniqlo) as leading the way in the mission to reduce the use of chemicals that pollute the planet. 

But while these 80 companies that include major brands such as Adidas, Nike, Mango and Puma – they only make up 15 percent of the fashion industry as a whole, and Burberry and Valentino are the only two fashion labels from the luxury sector to have signed up to the pledge. 

Kirsten Brodde, Greenpeace Germany project lead of the Detox-my-Fashion campaign admits: “While we are extremely happy to see the progress of Detox companies towards cleaning up their supply chains, 85 percent of the textile industry is still not doing enough to eliminate hazardous chemicals and improve factory working conditions”. 

Still, we do need to recognize that there are already multiple initiatives put in place to clean up the fashion industry’s image and environmental impact have come to fruition over the past few years. 

Commendable efforts by PVH Group (which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger) to reduce the waste generated by their brands, as well as a water economy programme launched by Gap Inc and recycled fashion collections launched by labels ranging from H&M to The North Face all make a difference. 

Sure, we still have a long way to go – but the successes achieved so far prove that when we work together, big businesses and big brands are compelled to stand up and deliver. For a better world. 

I support Detox Fashion! What about you?

Burberry Goes Red

Luxury brands too face stiff competition. So it is of little surprise that every other luxury brand is releasing special Lunar New Year editions. Burberry, in particular, rolled out a “Chinese New Year Gifts” promotion on their website – offering a special limited edition collection in a palette of prosperous reds, a tribute to Chinese tradition.

It includes a Burberry must-have, the Blaze Bag (above) – part of the Spring/Summer 2013 collection – as well as small leather accessories and scarves. Additionally, the time honored lucky red envelopes that are an integral part of the New Year will be gifted to customers.

 

Considering the Chinese government’s ongoing campaign against high-end gift-giving and luxury advertising, Burberry’s China-facing efforts – genuine as they may be – seem somewhat out of step with the current luxury environment, at least in that country.

Since I am talking about the color ‘red’ – it is not out of place if I grumble that it is not always an auspicious gloss because yesterday, West Brom’s Gareth McAuley and Romelu Lukaku (81, 90) scored to give the Baggies a stunning 2-0 win over the Reds. It not only ended the former’s poor EPL run but also lifted them a point above Liverpool into eighth place in the Premier League table.  So please excuse me if I gripe a little while longer.