The most iconic investment bags are the product of major luxury fashion houses, but in 2022, customers are putting their money behind more experimental designs by brands that aren’t household names. This season shines a spotlight on angular shapes and bold colourways from the industry’s most adventurous talents.
Jonathan Anderson unveiled his pleasing Bumper bag for spring/summer 2022. You’ve probably seen the two-tone rainbow bag, which comes in a baguette and moon shape, on the arms of Dua Lipa, Shygirl and the other famous fans who’ve bought into the deliciously supple style. (This is the designer who gifted us his chain loafers and bags, after all).
Acne Studios’s Musubi bag – available in juicy hues like fuchsia, electric blue and violet, and various sizes – is another offbeat favourite. With its squishy interior and knotted sides, it’s a playful departure from popular handbags, with a lower price point that makes it accessible to younger clientele.
Sharp-edged styles are trending, too. Diesel’s sporty 1DR bags became an instant hit after creative director Glenn Martens introduced the nostalgic shape during the early days of his tenure. “[The] 1DR bag is straight-forward, easy,, genderless and fun – which, ultimately, are exactly Diesel’s key values,” he previously told British Vogue.
Elsewhere, Charlotte Knowles and Alexandre Arsenault, the duo bhttps://www.popsugar.com/fashion/best-investment-bags-2022-48667835ehind KNWLS, have created statement-making bags to match the label’s ’90s-inspired corsets and stretchy flares. “We wanted to create a bag that felt recognisable and nostalgic, but at the same time futuristic in its shape and details,” they explain.
It has taken over two years to develop KNWLS bags like the spiky Hydra and trapezoid Razr styles, refined with the help of dedicated workers at an Italian factory who “believed in how special the KNWLS bag could be and lent their incredible craftsmanship to make it happen”. They hope that both will go on to become It-bags.
Fellow London talent Marco Capaldo, creative director and co-founder of 16Arlington, recently released the brand’s first-ever bag. Together with his partner in life and work Kikka Cavenati, who tragically died last year, he wanted to create “a series of recognisable silhouettes that felt distinctively part of our aesthetic universe.”
The Kikka bag, which comes in three sizes, riffs on the signature vampy collars seen across the shirting and dresses in the mainline collections. New embellishments will be made available each season. “We want them to be carried, loved and treasured forever.” What more could you want?