New York – While the departure of Alber Elbaz as artistic director of Lanvin sent a
ripple of shock through the fashion industry, he seems to have left his
mark with one product: the Lanvin Jiji Bag. While Lanvin has always been a
very popular luxury brand, their handbags have never reached the “it” bag
status of certain other designer bags like the Louis Vuitton Speedy or the
Fendi Spy. Lanvin’s handbags are still high quality, as they are
constructed from materials like lambskin, calfskin, and suede, but they
never quite had that so-called “it” factor that made them so highly
covetable.
Recently, that has changed with the Lanvin Jiji bag, a mini-leather bag
that has generated quite the Instagram hashtag. The bag can be seen on
Instagram being carried by the likes of former Harper’s Bazaar China
director Li Hui and fashion blogger Julia Engel.
With the right public faces on their side, Lanvin is finally having its
“it” bag moment. The company, which has been in business since 1889, has
finally got the bag that has put them on the most coveted luxury bag list.
The secret to their success was the perfect trend storm.
The name of the bag actually comes from the nickname that founder and
designer Jeanne Lanvin was given by her friends. The bag, which features a
double-gusset structure, was created to honor her, and is offered in a
variety of colors.
The Lanvin Jiji bag is the perfect tiny bag that everyone seems to be
wanting lately. Small bags, aside from the iconic Chanel 2.55 mm bag, are
finally having their moment. At Paris Fashion Week in October, Saint
Laurent and Miu Miu both sent very small handbags down the runway. Saint
Laurent had velvet and snakeskin pouches, and Miu Miu had two-tone bags
with chunky chain strap pouches. Karl Lagerfeld even sent a purse-sized
rolling suitcase down the runway at Chanel’s show.
In a 2015 survey by vogue.com, readers were asked what they thought the
“it” bag of 2015 was. Celine, which is always a major contender in the
luxury handbag market, actually wasn’t up for signature phantom bag as many
would expect. Rather, the were being considered for their smaller more
easily portable Curve bag.
The small handbag trend coupled with the publicity of the bag being an ode
to Lanvin herself made the sleek and stylish purse a winner. While Lanvin’s
sales figures have been in an unfortunate decline over the past three
years, this bag could help them propel their accessories category forward.
While accessories is a very competitive market, Lanvin is a known luxury
label and will have that edge going for them if they were to try and put
more emphasis on their accessories offerings.
photo:store.lanvin.com