STYLE Edit: Kaia Gerber loves the new Loewe Balloon Bag – and she’s not the only one
The Balloon Bag has been crafted using two kinds of leather and is unlined, much like the Hermès Evelyne and Mulberry’s Bayswater bag
Thinking of your next designer bag for the season? For those of us who are growing tired of the usual suspects (how many vintage Chanel 2.55s is considered too many?), how about a new signature bag – created by one of the oldest luxury houses in the world, run by one of the most exciting creative directors in the world?
We’re talking about Loewe’s new signature bag, the Balloon Bag. Steeped in royal Spanish history and currently reigned over by creative director Jonathan Anderson, Loewe promises excellence in leatherworking as well as a new young perspective that is shaking things up in the fashion community.
The Balloon Bag was unveiled during Loewe’s women’s spring/summer 2020 collection. For the campaign, who better to reconcile Loewe’s historical richness with its current chic than Kaia Gerber, daughter of 90s supermodel Cindy Crawford. The 18-year-old model was shot by Japanese photographer Fumiko Imano at Maison de l’Unesco Peace Garden with the new signature bag in hand.
The Balloon Bag has been crafted using two kinds of leather – a round base of robust calf leather and a sac of soft napa calfskin. Despite being extremely soft, the napa is full-bodied, thus allowing the bag to remain unlined.
Why would a luxury leather house keep a bag unlined, you ask? Actually, an unlined bag shows off the quality of the premium leather. Mulberry makes a similar choice with its signature Bayswater bag, and the Hermès Evelyne, which was originally created in 1978 for horse riders, is also sewn without a lining.
As for the Balloon Bag’s colourways, the bag comes in natural tones – such as taupe, vintage khaki and soft white – as well as two-tone variations of smooth hazelnut-and-tan, black-and-tan and topaz-and-black calfskin. A special ecru canvas-and-calfskin edition was also crafted, as was a natural raffia-and-calfskin edition which was unveiled in the prelaunch for Japan.
All three sizes of the Balloon Bag feature a knotted leather drawstring, which can be accessorised with Loewe’s Anagram Dice.
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