Tuesday 22 March 2011

task im giving myself

design classic that is a handbag.
GO!


 
I give you... The Hermès Birkin Bag. The bags are named after the actress and singer Jane Birkin, and are manufactured on a very limited scale, making them somewhat exclusive and incredibly hard to get hold of. A very ‘Design classic trait’ don’t you think? One pressing issue I fear may pop into peoples heads is whether price has any effect on whether something is a classic design or not. I think; no. But in this case, price is a big bone of contention simply because the Birkin bag costs from $9,000 to $150,000. Most people don’t even make that much money in a year, or maybe even a lifetime, let alone have enough money to invest it into a little bloody bag. But none the less, this bag is a classic mainly because the demand is greater than the goods. Likewise to previous mentioned classics, and in fact likewise to all my classics that will be gradually written about, the Birkin comes in an array of colours and materials starting off with the “cheapest” – calf leather, to the most expensive – saltwater crocodile skin. Other than the colour change and the different sizes the bag remains the same and has since its creation in 1984. Slight customization comes in the lock and key, sometimes being made of platinum, gold, or embellished with diamonds. Jane Birkin, the inspiration behind the bag, was renowned in fact for carrying a wicker basket but on a plane she dropped her basket in front of the president of Hermès, complained about its uselessness and some years later he produced her own bag known known today, obviously, as the Birkin. The bag’s links and ties with celebrities and its handsome life of being wanted by all and sundry, give it the legend of a design classic without even needing a furthered explanation. And more than anything, even with the bag being completely free of logos, it is still [one of] the most recognized bag in the fashion world.

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