THE THING ABOUT HANDBAGS

Here’s the thing about handbags: they’re the perfect accessory. Handbags will always fit, no matter how much weight you may gain or lose. Handbags look amazing, and they’re functional too. And nothing pulls an outfit together like the right handbag. Handbags are the perfect accessory.

The first women to start carrying handbags were the ancient Egyptians. In medieval Europe, the quality of a bag’s embroidery and leather revealed your social status – so not much has changed there, then! The handbag proper began life in eighteenth-century France where it was called a reticule; Louis Vuitton opened his first shop in Paris in 1854 and in 1856, Thomas Burberry set up shop in Basingstoke. Together, they are responsible for the most copied luxury goods in the world. Coach of Manhattan was established in 1941; Hermes of Paris began to produce the handbag now known as the Kelly back in the 1930s, a good twenty years before Princess Grace ever carried it. Jackie O preferred the Hermes Constance, and in 1981 the iconic Birkin was designed for actress Jane Birkin, who blames its weight for her tendonitis. Iconic brands and celebrities have always had a special relationship.

In the 1970s in Somerset, Roger Saul started his Mulberry workshop. When he sold out over twenty years later, deciding to run a hemp-seed oil farm instead, the brand went global, with prices tripling. But purists will still tell you that a Saul bag, with its tartan lining and oiled brass zips, is better than the modern Mulberry. Mrs Thatcher’s handbags were Ferragamo; Princess Diana preferred Dior, who returned the compliment by creating the Lady Dior in her honour. The average thirty-year-old British woman owns twenty-one handbags and will buy a new one every three to four months, owning about 160 in her lifetime.

HANDBAGS FROM LADY TARGARYEN'S SPRING/SUMMER 2013 COLLECTION

From the origins and history of handbags to their present day form, one thing is clear: women love handbags. As a status symbol, a piece of everyday luggage and just something pretty to carry on your arm, we love handbags – cheers to our favourite accessory!

-        Featuring an excerpt from Late Night Shopping

FASHION WEEKEND ZIMBABWE 2013 - REVIEW

It’s a wrap on Fashion Weekend Zimbabwe 2013’s inaugural edition; held at the Glasshouse (Borrowdale Race Course, Harare) on 2 November 2013, what is to become an annual event was launched with a jam-packed gala evening of fashion, music and food.

Fashion Weekend Zimbabwe delivered on all 3 aspects, showcasing 11 local fashion designers and 1 international fashion designer between a 2-course dinner and musical performances by Audius Mtawarara and Shingi Mangoma. It was a lot crammed into one night, with the event kicking off with a VIP cocktail from 5.30pm and going on into the early hours of the next morning. The event also featured a Fashion Market and Beauty Hub, albeit on a smaller scale than what one expects will be the case in future years when the event is put on over a full weekend. Perhaps because of the food and fashion shows indoors being the main attraction, the outdoor exhibition stalls for fashion and beauty businesses seemed to fall by the wayside with this event, almost as an added-on afterthought.

This wouldn't be the first time exhibition stands failed to deliver the desired outcome at a large fashion event: the exhibition stands promised by Zimbabwe Fashion Week 2013 were absent for the first 2 days of the three-day event and scarce on Day 3 when most (irate and very unhappy) exhibitors had decided against exhibiting at all and were looking to demand a refund from the organisers. This is a pity, because whilst fashion shows and a good time are certainly a great part of the fashion industry, the end objective is largely to sell clothes and accessories – vibrant exhibition stands would certainly enable this, but have unfortunately been a let-down for most paying exhibitors at these large events.

Poor lighting and windy outdoor conditions characterised the market area of Fashion Weekend Zimbabwe in 2013 – a well-lit tent setup would definitely be better for future editions of the event. At the end of the day, businesses would like to be able to track the success of their marketing ventures and the results from Fashion Weekend Zimbabwe were disappointing. Here’s hoping that there’s a marked improvement in the exhibition and market portions of fashion events in Zimbabwe in future years.