Plastic Bags as Luxury? Anything But Disposable
I had to smile when Bottega Veneta, best-known for its luxurious leather goods, accessorized its Fall/Winter 2025 collection not only with sumptuous handbags but floral bouquets, metal hand baskets, and flimsy plastic shoppers.
In my naivety, I thought these were merely scene-setting props. They were there to paint a picture of stylish people on the go, running errands, juggling handfuls of photogenic fare while grabbing gum and lilies from the corner shop.
I was dead wrong. A gasp of yearning replaced the grin when Bottega debuted its fittingly titled Supermercato totes, the latest and maybe most overtly stylish in a long line of disposable bags gone luxury.
Available both in pink and yellow lamb leather, Bottega's nearly $4,000 grocery bags would easily be my steepest checkout surcharge ever. (those eight grand leather flowers not included.)
Stemming from what would end up being his final collection for the Italian house before heading to Chanel, Matthieu Blazy's Bottega bodega bags are a continuation of a very clever theme that the designer has long had in play.
Or have you forgotten all about his paper bag that wasn't one, the leather "sweat suit", and countless other calfskin deceptions?
In something I'd like to believe was a foreshadowing full-circle moment, Bottega's "plastic" shoppers remind me of Blazy's then-future employer: Chanel's infamous supermarket spectacle of 2014.
There, Karl Lagerfeld erected Costco-like interiors, their shelves stacked with monogram-speckled groceries, tossed by models into bedazzled shopping carts, baskets, and trollies.
And even further bygone was Jil Sander’s $290 paper lunch bag, a luxury persiflage you’d be damned to stow a greasy sandwich in. It of course came courtesy of none other than Matthieu Blazy’s former mentor, Raf Simons, himself a descendant of this Duchamp-ian lineage.
More recently, Louis Vuitton took a stab at this so-called readymade genre of artisan crafts, presenting carryalls and crossbodies that look more like the brand's own product packaging than the leather goods typically wrapped inside them.
And just this past fashion month, ever-absurdist Moschino put forth an array of typically tongue-in-cheek clutches, among them a Pepperidge Farm bag with a bespoke flavor of Milano cookies (treats may or may not be included).
Throw in Balenciaga's garbage sacks and potato chip packets from a few years ago, or its new delusive sneaker box, and you've got yourself a whole armada of top-tier pocketbooks that could accidentally land in the recycling bin.
You know what they say: One man's trash...
