The Most Iconic Handbags and Their Muses
The age old question for many men has been, ‘What do they keep in their handbag?’ Spoiler alert, this story will not let you in on our little secrets as to what is stashed in our purses, that is for us to know and for you to keep wondering about. But this story is about handbags themselves, and honestly, it is more interesting than what we keep tucked away inside. So, next time you are out on the town with your lady and she hands you her purse to hold for a moment, hold it with honor because first of all you are being a gentleman by being of assistance and secondly, because unbeknownst to you, handbags tell a story about the designer and their muse.
Today, we are looking at the most iconic handbags and the muses that made timeless.
Bag: The Hermès Birkin | Muse: Jane Birkin
Jane Birkin, the inspiration behind possibly the most famous and notable handbag in the world, the Hermès Birkin.
Jane is a British actress, singer, model, and songwriter who happened to be seated next to Jean-Louis Dumas, the chief executive of Hermès, on a flight from Paris to London in 1983. After she mentioned her never ending search for a leather weekend handbag, Hermès created a black leather bag for her, the Birkin bag, in 1984.
Since 1984 the Birkin bag has become a status symbol with certain Birkin’s being sold for upwards of $500,000.
The Bag: The Hermès Kelly Bag | The Muse: Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly, an American actress turned Princess of Monaco became such a fan of the Hermès bag when the costume designer for To Catch a Thief brought it on set in 1954. Grace would carry the bag regularly and was often photographed with it that the public began to reference it as the Kelly bag. In 1977 Hermès officially renamed the bag from the Sac à dépêches to the Kelly Bag.
It remains a top seller for Hermès with prices soaring depending on the material it is made out of.
The Bag: Gucci’s Jackie Bag | The Muse: Jackie Kennedy Onassis
Jackie Kennedy Onassis, First Lady, wife to John F. Kennedy, and one of the biggest fashion icons naturally has a designer bag named after her. Originally named the Fifties Constance when released by Gucci in the 1950’s, it was renamed to the Jackie bag after she was photographed often carrying the chic purse around town in the 1960’s and for the remainder of her life.
The Bag: The Nina Bag by Gabriela Hearst | The Muse: Nina Simone
Named after artist and activist Nina Simone, the Nina bag was the first handbag designed and released by Gabriela Hearst with a very limited quantity of 20 bags.
Currently, it is a favorite amongst fashionistas such as Meghan Markle, Angelina Jolie, Thandie Newton, Brie Larson and many others!
The Bag: Dior’s Lady Dior | The Muse: Princess Diana
Lady Diana Spencer turned Princess Diana stole the hearts of the world with her grace, kindness and impeccable fashion sense. In 1995 while in Paris visiting the Cézanne exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris, sponsored by the LVMH group, she was gifted the Dior bag by Bernadette Chirac, the First Lady of France.
After being gifted the handbag she loved it so much and wore it often. In 1996 the handbag was renamed, ‘Lady Dior’, in her honor and remains a timeless and immensely popular bag for the fashion house.
The Bag: Salvatore Ferragamo’s Sofia Bag | The Muse: Sofia Loren
Sofia Loren, the Italian actress and beauty who won Best Actress for her role in the 1960 film La Ciociara. She garnered international fame with her acting, beauty, and fabulous love affairs.
In the Spring/ Summer collection of 2009, Salvatore Ferragamo released their Sofia bag in honor of the film star who was great friends and long-term client of Mr. Ferragamo.
The Bag: Louis Vuitton’s SC bag | The Muse: Sofia Coppola
Sofia Coppola the American screenwriter, director, producer, and actress known for her films such as Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette and Lost in Translation collaborated with Louis Vuitton on designing the SC tote for the brand in 2009.
Since then, the bag has remained very well known and liked, with the SC bag often making an appearance on the Louis Vuitton runways in new color-ways and materials since its debut.
The Bag: Ballin’s Amal Bag | The Muse: Amal Clooney
Amal Clooney, British Human Rights Lawyer and wife to George Clooney sky rocketed to international fame and became a style icon seemingly overnight when she wed the famous actor on Lake Como in 2014.
As a working lawyer she was often photographed using the Ballin tote around town so much that the label renamed the tote after the gorgeous humanitarian.
