Shapes made by chance: We’re crushing on the BAO BAO ISSEY MIYAKE AW14 Collection
As September’s fashion weeks draw ever closer, we’re becoming increasingly excited about the innovative new designs and cuts and colours we’re going to see gracing the world’s most prestigious catwalks. Looking forward to the future got us reminiscing about the past, about Paris Fashion Week and Jardin des Tuleries at the beginning of this year, and about a certain designer who caught our eye: Issey Miyake. The Japanese designer has always been on our radar, his fragrances are of course particularly legendary, but ever since PFW 2014 he’s been constantly at the forefront of our minds, keeping us awake at night with visions of perfect pleats and prisms and peak caps. The inexplicably exciting news of his new A/W Bao Bao bag collection will inevitably cause yet more sleepless nights.
Born in Hiroshima in 1938 Issey Miyake studied graphic design at university, something that’s always been hugely evident in his designs, and never more so than in the new season bags. ‘Both light and soft, it folds, accommodates and transforms itself after handling to create dramatic new shapes’. The designer describes the Bao Bao bags and pouches as ‘shapes made by chance’. It’s this incredibly novel element of surprise that we love most; depending on how each woman carries hers and what she puts in it, each bag will take on an entirely different and unexpected form, meaning a totally unique look is always guaranteed.
At their origin, the Bao Bao range was part of the Pleats Please Issey Miyake collection, and later became a separate line for Spring/Summer 2011. Miyake explains that Bao Bao accessories ‘feature a flexible functionality perfect for busy modern lifestyles’, and we couldn’t agree more. In fact, we’d go as far as to claim that we’ve found a bag perfect for every occasion in the professional woman’s diary this autumn.
Lucent Pro shoppers are all about futuristic luxe. Available in a variety of incredibly bold metallic colours this is the bag that can (and should!) go absolutely everywhere with you this autumn. Each bag might look like one solid block colour when laid flat, but don’t let this fool you: as soon as it’s picked up, moulded, filled, the movement magically transforms it, each little prism taking on a different hue. The almost silvery tones the purple Lucent Pro flaunts are perfect with a monochrome city look; pair with a floaty maxi skirt like this one from Gyunel to contrast with the sharp signature Bao Bao edges. Each shade of the red shopper is as bold as the next, making it an extraordinary statement accessory. We say don’t be afraid to work daring, clashing colours in to your outfit with this one!
Issey Miyake’s pursuit of intriguing shapes has revolutionised the humble clutch, and given new significance to its name. Think about it: ‘clutch’. One is evidently meant to clutch a clutch, and the way you hold your Lucent Pro Shogun clutch will dramatically alter your look and say a lot about your character. Grasping the body of the bag with fingers frosted with statement rings will scrunch up the prisms and show you mean business, whilst delicately clasping the corner will display an elegant French manicure and present a softer you to the world. With a bold cityscape print in golden autumnal colours, this is high fashion meets urban elite.
For a night out it’s got to be the Tank cross-body bag. Studs and stunning metallics will guarantee a dramatic entrance to any cocktail bar or nightclub. Glimmering in the light, the prisms literally mould themselves around you and your essentials. Every Bao Bao bag will always fit your life exactly.
‘Accessories from Bao Bao Issey Miyake, full of change and energy, are the tools you need to fly off toward a new world’. Arm yourself with a Bao Bao bag this autumn, and you’ll be ready to take on everything city life throws at you.
Shop the Bao Bao Issey Miyake AW14 collection here!
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