Over the weekend, Christopher Bailey showed his final collection for Burberry. The semi-autobiographical collection charted Bailey's upbringing in Halifax, Yorkshire and the trends that dominated working-class England in the ’80s and '90s. The nostalgic collection embraced the old Burberry brand, reviving both the classic "Nova" check and the brand's original “Burberry’s” licensing name, both of which became late '90s and early '00s bootleg favorites.
The collection also included Burberry-branded shopping bags. Bailey sent supermarket-style plastic carriers down the runway, Nova-check vinyl and canvas shoppers, and brightly colored "Burberry Sport" tote bags (the latter two styles are available now, ranging from $290 to $690, as part of the brand's "see now, buy now" collection).
Of course, Burberry isn't the first brand to make luxury shopping bags. Most recently, Balenciaga under the creative direction of Demna Gvasalia has released insanely expensive laundry bags, shoppers, IKEA-inspired bags and plastic bags that reference a variety of European supermarkets. However, as we've pointed out before, Gvasalia wasn't the first designer to appropriate shopping bags. Over the years, Martin Margiela, Raf Simons for Jill Sander, Chanel, Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton and COMME des GARÇONS have all released their own iterations of everyday bags.
Clearly, fashion's interest in the humble shopping bag hasn't waned, and we don't think Bailey's take on the trend will be the last. For Burberry, however, embracing the everyday takes on more meaning.
To give some background, Burberry bootlegs were everywhere in the ’00s and became strongly associated with British working-class culture — something the luxury heritage house wasn't too pleased with. As a response, Burberry underwent a huge rebrand to distance itself, and it even discontinued the iconic check print.
Fashion has always taken inspiration from the street, but more recently, brands have begun embracing bootleg aesthetics. Case in point is Diesel, Marc Jacobs and Gucci who have all released "official fakes," as well as Demna Gvasalia's low-to-high-end logo flips.
But Bailey's last collection wasn't just buying into this trend, either. By sending a collection full of shopping bags, classic check and other references to Burberry fakes down the runway, Bailey celebrated his working-class roots and bridged the gap between luxury and everyday.
In other style news, Balenciaga, Supreme and Burberry were all the rage at London Fashion Week.
