Fashion Week Handbags: Gucci Spring 2013

I’m about to use a word to describe the handbags from Gucci Spring 2013 that I genuinely have never associated with Gucci or its bags in the past: simple. For the candy-colored clutches and petite shoulder bags that Gucci sent down the runway in Milan on Friday, the brand’s iconic horsebit hardware was back and nearly everything else was gone. Shown in two versions, Gucci’s pared-down flap bags were a notable departure for a brand know for its large, sometimes aggressive handbags.

Gucci creative head Frida Giannini has always enjoyed turning our expectations of the brand on their heads, though, and that’s exactly what she did in a runway show full of monochrome and monotexture ensembles. The bags followed the lead of the clothes instead of making their own statement, and it’ll be interesting to see how this newfound restraint reverberates through the rest of Gucci’s accessory line come spring. Check out all the bags after the jump.

[Photos via Vogue.com]

Diane von Furstenberg and Google team up to debut Glass at Fashion Week

Over the last five years, the role of technology in fashion has absolutely exploded. Not only have blogs emerged as a huge force in the industry, but magazines are racing to bring their online content up to their offline editorial standards and brands are using digital printmaking, three-dimensional printers and a whole slew of other technological advances to enrich their clothes and accessories. This afternoon at New York Fashion Week, the intersection of tech and fashion reached a new point: powerhouses Diane von Furstenberg and Google joined forces to debut the much-rumored Glass on DVF’s Spring 2013 runway.

Still in its design infancy, Glass is a pair of (glass-less, ironically) glasses that captures the wearer’s experiences while he or she moves through the world. At the DVF show, wearers included front-row attendee and Google co-founder Sergey Brin, model Hanne Gaby Odiele and Diane von Furstenberg herself. All of the wearers captured the show from their perspectives, and on September 13, we’ll all be able to see the POV video that resulted on DVF’s official YouTube page. Don’t want to wait? Get a behind-the-scenes look on the official DVF Google+ page. Glass, meanwhile, is still in development, but I’m very interested to see what a fashion show looks like from on the catwalk and behind the scenes instead of in the seats.

Explore the Gucci Icons, starting with 3 iconic handbags

Gucci is one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The classic GG monogram is easy to spot no matter what piece it graces, but there is much more to the history of Gucci than just the logo. In 1921, Guccio Gucci started a leather goods company in Florence and within a few years, sophisticated shoppers were turning to the house of Gucci for their luxury goods. The horsebit icon, which is just as recognizable as the GG monogram, was an idea that stemmed from the many horse-riding aristocrats Guccio came to know in Italy. The brand continued to grow and expand to the massive and well-respected design house it is today, but now Gucci wants to turn back to its roots and share more of the company history by reflecting on the Gucci Icons.

While taking a stroll back through time to see the iconic items that make the brand what it is today, three iconic handbags stand out: the Stirrup, the New Bamboo, and the Jackie. Along with that, we have a gallery of imagery throughout Gucci’s history, from the early 1930s to today.

The design has not changed much since the inception of this bag, and the Gucci New Bamboo Top Handle Bag remains a classic. While other brands attempt to bring touches of bamboo into their lines, Gucci is the only designer that does it tastefully and without a note of kitsch. I immediately narrowed in on this cherry red crocodile version with light gold hardware. Not only is this exotic bag delightful, but it’s also the perfect hue to work with fall trends.

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