Not many bags are worth splurging out on a mega fashion show with some of the world’s biggest celebrities flown in to attend. But as one of the earliest progenitors of the “It-bag” craze, the Baguette is as much a fashion entity as it is a pop culture one.
In a tribute to the influential bag’s 25th anniversary, Fendi pulled all out the stops in a extravagant show staged in New York’s massive Hammerstein Ballroom, with major names from the worlds of fashion (Kate! Linda! Christy!), music (Grace Jones) and entertainment (Kim Kardashian and Baguette fairy godmother Sarah Jessica Parker) all in attendance, alongside the brand’s ambassadors like Song Hye Kyo and Lee MinHo.
P.S. If you’re wondering why Fendi chose to stage this spectacle in New York instead of their home turf of Rome, well few would dispute that the Baguette is practically synonymous with one of New York’s most indelible icons: Sex and the City and its protagonist, Carrie Bradshaw.
Here, a lowdown on the show and the collection.
Looking at the collection, one walked away with the impression that the clothes, styling and accessories had a distinctly “street” vibe. That was intentional, according to Fendi’s womenswear artistic director, Kim Jones. He saw 1997 – the year of the original Baguette’s launch – as a period where the traditional boundaries between “uptown” and “downtown” began to break down and things got more amorphous. “I didn’t want to do a traditional ‘collection’ for the anniversary. Rather it’s a celebration of a time, of the moment the Baguette became famous,” he said. “I relate that time to a sense of freedom in excess and fun – both qualities the Baguette possesses.”
Notably with fellow designer Marc Jacobs, with whom Kim Jones has a close relationship with (Jacobs hired Jones to be in-charge of menswear at Louis Vuitton, back when the former was Louis Vuitton’s creative director in the 2000s). Jones invited Jacobs to put his spin on Fendi and both their designs came down the runway, though it was pretty clear who did what – the second half of the Fendi show saw outfits with long denim skirts, neon-tinged stoles and enormous fur hats; all familiar elements from JacobS’ recent collections from his own eponymous label. Fans of Marc Jacobs – look out for the special edition Baguettes splashed with a “Fendi Roma” logo – done in Jacobs’ signature font.
The striking robin blue egg hue seen on several looks and accessories was not a coincidence; fellow LVMH label mate Tiffany & Co. lent its expertise in precious stones to Fendi. Take for example the crocodile skin Baguette carried by Bella Hadid in the show; the bag’s FF buckle comes paved in diamonds. Another Baguette carried in the show is reportedly made entirely of sterling silver, which took the jeweller’s artisans four months to craft.
There’s no mentioning the Baguette without talking about the person most closely linked with it; Sarah Jessica Parker (SJP). Her Sex and the City character’s famous statement when held at gunpoint, “It’s not a bag, it’s a Baguette”, is now immortalised inside each of SJP’s capsule collection of Baguettes through label inscriptions. Designed alongside Baguette creator Silvia Venturini Fendi, each bag is embroidered in sequins (with a palette of purple, wasabi, baby pink or soft blue) and they sport interchangeable buckles to suit the wearer’s mood.
Kim Jones came from a background in streetwear, so it might come as no surprise that feted Japanese bag label Porter is this collection’s final collaborator. The label is beloved for its durable bonded nylon creations and in this Fendi collection, the material has been applied to several bags, including a new style pictured here billed as the “Bum Baguette”.
And apparently, Kim Jones caught the clogs fervour too. We’re not complaining because we dig the footwear style 100 per cent.