Why are mini bags that can't hold anything so popular now?

Mini handbags set off a new round of inward scrolling in the fashion industry.

Take a shot, if you see someone carrying a Chanel powder box bag, a Louis Vuitton coffee bag, a Hermès skateboard bag, don't be surprised, there will be even more strange things waiting for you, such as the shape and down pillows A similar expansion bag or a tote bag as big as a bucket... these fun bags with the theme of small things in life have become the "battlefield" for designers to compete for creativity. The voice of the chop-hand party is as printed on the Loewe wallet in the 2021 autumn and winter series, "I want to save money, but I will give up in one or two days!" The initiator of the volume is none other than the mini handbag.

After the first launch of the 7 cm high mini handbag Le Sac Chiquito on the Jacquemus2018 spring and summer show, the mini handbag has received continuous attention from fashion lovers. Later, Louis Vuitton also launched a mini bag, too small to hold a lipstick. It turns out that there is no smallest, only smaller. In a blink of an eye, the Mini Le Chiquito of Jacquemus's Autumn/Winter 2019 series is a miniature wallet shrunk to a height of 5 cm. It is so small that it can’t even fit a headset. The media who watched the show on the spot spit on Instagram: this handbag It's so small that when the models use their fingers to hook it onto the runway, they can barely see it.

The English version of Harper's Bazaar launched a poll: "Will you choose a micro bag?" 37% of readers voted "Yes, it's so cute", and the vast majority of the remaining people sent a very reasonable question: "I How to install things?” Just as everyone was frantically discussing how to use the mini-bag, netizens used their imagination as always, "I need a Jacquemus mini handbag to hold three brain cells".

After the first launch of the 7 cm high mini handbag Le Sac Chiquito on the Jacquemus2018 spring and summer show, the mini handbag has received continuous attention from fashion lovers. Later, Louis Vuitton also launched a mini bag, too small to hold a lipstick. It turns out that there is no smallest, only smaller. In a blink of an eye, the Mini Le Chiquito of Jacquemus's Autumn/Winter 2019 series is a miniature wallet shrunk to a height of 5 cm. It is so small that it can’t even fit a headset. The media who watched the show on the spot spit on Instagram: this handbag It's so small that when the models use their fingers to hook it onto the runway, they can barely see it.

The English version of Harper's Bazaar launched a poll: "Will you choose a micro bag?" 37% of readers voted "Yes, it's so cute", and the vast majority of the remaining people sent a very reasonable question: "I How to install things?” Just as everyone was frantically discussing how to use the mini-bag, netizens used their imagination as always, “I need a Jacquemus mini handbag to hold three brain cells”.

The evolution of luggage and bags has a distinctive mark of the times. For example, the Steamer Bag, which was born in 1901, has witnessed the modern travel mode of steam cruise ships. The book "Illustrated British Butlers" records how cumbersome and cumbersome the luggage transportation work is when the famous family travels with their families. In the 1920s, Alice Astor, the daughter of the richest American, and her husband, Duke Oberensky, a Russian nobleman, lived a happy sojourn life. Butler Dean also followed the owner to "cross the Atlantic 28 times", and his packaging technology has reached the height of "art". He numbered all the boxes, made a list, and made clear what was in each box, so no matter what the owner needed, he could take it out immediately. To be safe, he will divide the keys into several strings and carry them with him. As we walked, the keys hummed like a jailer. Once, on a whim, the Duke of Oberensky asked how many boxes of luggage there were, and the butler replied that there were 99 boxes in total.

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean 28 times, 99 boxes, such a specific number makes people doubt whether he is talking nonsense. However, another person reported a more exaggerated figure, that is, Arnest King, who was once the director of Queen Elizabeth II. He wrote in his memoirs that the luggage of the wealthy Mrs. Woodsfield when traveling contained 170 Louis Vuitton suitcases, most of which were the size of an adult man. It seems that the upper class travel 100 years ago had a scale beyond modern people's imagination.

Changes in travel conditions have changed the function and size of the bag. Keepall was launched in the 1930s. It was the first soft duffel bag suitable for short-distance travel. Like its name, it has the "capacity to hold everything." When vehicles such as cars and trains have greatly improved travel efficiency, the requirements for suitcases have also changed from load-bearing to easy-to-carry. Many celebrities and dignitaries gradually have a demand for distinctive travel equipment, so badges and initials have become unique signs on bags. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor asked to draw their names by hand on the Goyard suitcase, with the bright yellow and red favored by the Duke of Windsor, and the royal blue and yellow vertical ribbon favored by the duchess.

In the early 20th century, only working-class women carried large bags that could be used for shopping. This concept only changed when Hermès launched the Birkin bag, a large handbag. The word “reticule” originally came from “ridiculous”. Probably, in the eyes of many men, this kind of thing is really unnecessary, but for women, the bag is a protective barrier. You can feel a certain sense of security when you grab the bag. When Princess Grace blocked her pregnant belly with her hand bag, this barrier was a reality.

The birth of the mini bag is attributed to the digital lifestyle: on the one hand, objectively there are fewer and fewer must-haves for going out; on the other hand, the small shape of the "cute point" is a kind of spiritual comfort with a bridging effect. After all, anxiety can also be regarded as the attribute of the current era. For brands, mini handbags are a cost-effective business. Most mini handbags are still smaller versions of iconic luxury brand handbags, and smaller bags mean lower prices. Perhaps junior luxury consumers cannot afford the consumption of normal-sized bags, and a mini version with a price of only a small part of full-sized bags can be considered.

Brands such as Gucci and Dior also subdivide the size of small iconic bags into reduced versions, mini versions, and even toy versions. These unique shapes are also easier to become the social currency of the new generation on the Internet. While they assume the function of communication, they also demonstrate brand aesthetics and concepts. Luca Solka, head of global luxury analysis at BNP Paribas Securities, once said: "If handbags are launched at lower prices, which allows the brand to communicate with new consumer groups, then the brand's sales will increase substantially."

As a fashion prop, the symbolic meaning of bags sometimes exceeds practicality. We also know that Anna Wintour never carries bags when participating in fashion shows. The problem is that if the people who use mini bags most often do not have the support of a team behind them like celebrities and celebrities, how can they solve the basic needs of makeup? Fortunately, the popularity of mini bags has become popular, and the super large bags have also begun to have names in the past two years. Marni enlarges its classic bucket bag to the size of a real bucket, which is exaggerated and chic enough. Givenchy has launched a soft and non-fixed shape style, which can be clamped with your arm when you put it on. Some bags are large enough to hold a person, and go to the other extreme of the mini bag meme.

Social media amplifies the value of symbols, but this is not a new way of thinking. Since the earliest shopping malls were established in the middle of the 19th century, the shopping experience has been regarded as extremely important. The magnificent shopping malls always have art exhibitions and live music performances. When the Selfridges department store opened in London, it avoided direct marketing of any trivial merchandise, and the focus was on luxury experience. At that time, department store people had long realized: "People are not shopping, they are buying impressions." Nowadays, there is another layer of "cultural" element in the products. The French philosopher Guy Debord pointed out as early as 1967 that once culture becomes a commodity, it will become a real "star commodity", which is indeed the case.