Handbags – objects of desire and social statement

An an essential accesssory for women, handbags pack a powerful political punch and are a social marker, a British exhibition sponsored by luxury brand Mulberry reveals.

The Victoria and Albert Museum is showing some 300 items at "Bags: Inside and Out" from Saturday, including a 16th-century embroidered purse and a contemporary plastic rucksack by Stella McCartney.

The exhibition explores the fascination with the bag, from designer handbags to despatch boxes, vanity cases to military rucksacks, the V&A says.

Bags project bold statements to the outside world whilst concealing our most treasured belongings. Featuring around 300 objects, varying in scale from tiny purses held on a fingertip to luxurious travel trunks, the exhibition explores the function, status and craftsmanship of these highly covetable objects from the 16th century to today, the V&A says.

The show also looks at the "It bag" crazein the 1990s, influenced by celebrity images.

One such bag on show is a purple sequined Fendi baguette bag once carried by the Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw, played by Parker in the hit HBO show.

There is also a leather handbag once carried by former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher's handbags even led to the creation of a new verb: "to handbag,'' or browbeat into submission.

The exhibition's first part looks at the different uses bags are put to.

An imposing Louis Vuitton trunk from the early 20th century was made for long voyages while a leather bag measuring just 16 centimeters can squeeze in a purse, an opera glass, a notebook and a mirror. The second part of the exhibition looks at bags and identity: what a bag says about the owner and their aspirations.

Some have become closely associated with celebrity owners, such as the Hermes handbag, "Kelly.'' It was renamed after the icily stylish actress Grace Kelly was photographed carrying it.

Others include the Lady Dior, known as a favourite of Princess Diana, and the Hermes' Birkin bag created after the fashion house's head Jean-Louis Dumas met the British-born actress Jane Birkin on a plane.

A final section of the exhibition examines the techniques used to make bags, including quirkier designs such as the US designers Thom Brown's handbag from last year in the shape of a dachshund, inspired by his dog Hector.-AFP/The Standard