Givenchy, the secret 'it' bag source
In a time of “it” bag fatigue, when flashy logos and excessive hardware failed to turn heads and generate profits, a young Italian at the house of Givenchy fashioned a purse that managed to generate a following so cult-like it earned a reputation as a kind of under-the-radar “it” bag. A status symbol that required no gaudy adornment.
Ricardo Tisci’s invention, what we know as the Nightingale, was a bag so strangely simple and utilitarian, it looked out of place next to the shiny purses dotting department store racks.
“I hate vulgarity,” Tisci recently declared in Interview magazine. “I hate vulgarity even though it attracts me — and it attracts me very much. I love all that is transgressive or vulgar. But in my opinion, it has to reach a limit that is always a little surreal and never becomes in-your-face.”
Tisci is largely responsible for the ladylike looks with a strain of barely repressed sexuality running underneath, as though the starched buttoned-up collars hid a healthy appetite for fetishistic play.
Givenchy’s evolving line of purses reflected Tisci’s shifting allegiance to the kind of transgression seen on the runway. “But I don’t love shock by itself,” he observes. “I do the shocking in the chic.”
The Nightingale, a sack with abbreviated wide straps, was a response to the bold schlocky colorful purses popular during its genesis. Chic in its anonymity, a design that made use of dark leather in a soft malleable finish, the Nightingale grew in quiet popularity, earning a waiting list that boasted bold-faced names and rich folk with a yen for something more low-key.
When the Pandora entered the scene, a geometric purse that melded downtown sophistication with uptown cool, it took its cues from its predecessor’s slouchy shape. Worn with a sling to mold against the figure, it offered hands-free access, which garnered a serious following from celebs who wore the Pandora in busy cities or crowded concerts.
Tisci was thinking of women who had places to go, companies to run, credit cards to swipe.
“Back in the day there were princesses,” he explains. “Today, there are still princesses, but she no longer rides around with horses and a carriage. She parties, she goes on vacation, she goes on boats. She wants to be dynamic. I understood this and I kept going.”
Givenchy’s latest addition to their oeuvre, the Antigona is a sleek structured handbag that looks like something straight out of a Hitchcock film. The bag’s shape hints at a restrained sex appeal, like Tippi Hedren in a laced-up suit or Angelica Huston in a men’s shirt and sharp trousers.
Celeb fans run the gamut, from Gwyneth, January Jones, Zoe Saldana and Beyonce to Giovanna Battaglia, Rachel Zoe and Lara Stone. Ciara, Madonna and Rihanna have been photographed toting the Antigona.
There’s something a little bit transgressive about this band of women, from all walks of life, all powerful figures, finding a similar allure in one bag. But that’s just how Tisci likes it.
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The Givenchy Antigona, Pandora and Nightingale are available at Adora, Greenbelt 5.
