STYLE Edit: How Celine’s timeless Triomphe handbag stole the show in Parade, the fashion brand’s autumn/winter 2021 collection
- Inspired by the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, the ‘It’ bag’s clasp motif was originally designed in the 1970s, refreshed by artistic director Hedi Slimane in 2019
- Slimane takes inspiration from historic French writers like Arthur Rimbaud and Charles Baudelaire for this collection
The archival design has also been reinterpreted into the Triomphe canvas, which has a worn, vintage effect.
The big difference between the Triomphe of the summer and the Triomphe of the autumn is its size. Last season, the shoulder bag measured 20cm by 10cm (the Teen Triomphe was and is a little smaller). This season, the Triomphe has a more elongated silhouette that makes it even more noticeable when tucked under the arm.
Jokes aside, the size does matter. Not least because it gives more room for hand sanitisers, wet wipes and spare face masks in our new Covid-19 world. The new elongated shape allows the Triomphe shoulder bag to peek out from under the arm a little more conspicuously than before. After all, if you have an “It” bag, why not show it off?
You can see the new Triomphe in at least three iterations in Celine’s Parade show, filmed near Paris at the Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte’s Jardins d’André Le Nôtre. The full line-up for the new release includes shiny calfskin leather in Pebble, Nude, Forest, Arctic Blue, Pop Orange and Peony colourways, and fresh pearl and natural colours in lizard skin. The Teen Triomphe also gets a tweed finish with tan trimmings.
