Why the pastry-inspired fashion trend should be on your radar

In the hyper-stylish Instagram bubble, you've probably gotten used to a certain hyper-Parisian image that appears frequently in your trendy feed. This dispatch comes from a cherry red lacquered bistro table, with a sparkling coffee or a carafe of Bordeaux in one corner and a cleverly unstructured scattering of accessories in another. At the center of it all is the croissant, an iconic and delicious encapsulation of French sophistication. Generally, this is the real deal: a croissant pastry, in all its buttery and flaky glory. But in some spheres of fashion, pastries have also inspired a fashion trend.

Which means there is a chance that it is also the trendy croissant bag, which has the same half-moon shape as pastry, without missing aesthetic variations from the spacious and gathered tote for garnish the bags under the arms and in all colors. way. While Bottega Venetas Shoulder pouch, a darling of the street, and the functional antithesis of an itty-bitty micro-bag, may be the most fashionable of the group, creative director Daniel Lee is far from the only designer of handbags reminiscent of layered pastries.

For classic French brands like Lemaire, croissants are just a natural part of everyday life, which can rightly explain its leather shoulder bag with semicircle panels called Croissant Bag. Elsewhere in Sweden, Colombia, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Hungary and the United States, brands such as Totme, Marargent, Gia Studios, Rejina Pyo, Nanushka and Staud, respectively, all respected the flaky treat with their own arched bags. As can be seen above, the figure indeed has something of an enticing moment. Croissants and other delicate and pasty treats are as timeless an inspiration as the pastry itself. Can we remind you of the bags of croissant cousin baton, the baguette?

In 1997, the Italian house Fendi debuted the long and thin handbag as something intended to be carried under the arm just as the French make their spears from crispbread. Over 100,000 were would have sold in the first year alone, and in 2000, the bag reached the big screen: when Carrie Bradshaw and her purple sequin Fendi Baguette were attacked in an alley Gender and cities third season, she told her attacker that it was not a bag, but a sackcloth.

With a recent revival at the start of the years which revived staples several years old, the baguette bag came back in force: Fendi himself reissued the handbag in 2018, making his debut on his track again. Spring 2019 in Milan. Two years later, baguette fever may be dead, but the croissant bag is the next thing at the bakery to get the F-Capital fashion treatment. So why are designers so keen on making handbags that we want to snoop around?

In a sense, the croissant bags are the perfect confectionery storm of everything that accessory designers want to accomplish in the handbag business. As an evolution of the Fendi Baguette, the croissant bags are just vaguely vintage-inspired enough to give something interesting to the wearer, but are still consistent in recognizable form.

We have noticed a strong return of vintage influences in accessories, in particular bags and small leather goods, explains Maud Barrionuevo, purchasing director at LVMH, the 24S luxury shopping platform. Retro styles are more visible and are worn as a fashion statement … bold colors, unique textures, playful prints. These variations are limitless and intended to be fun and youthful.

Mariana Ramirez, creator and founder of the Colombian brand of handbags Marargent, has quickly carved out a place in a crowded market thanks to brands with ultra-luxurious and elegant designs. As with all of its pieces, the Marargents croissants Pierre bag presents details inspired by great artists, like his namesake, the famous French interior designer Pierre Paulin.

In our case, we didn't create Pierre in order to be fashionable or popular, explains Ramirez. We created this model to be appreciated as an art and passed on from generation to generation. But if you ask us, we think it is popular in the fashion industry due to the evolution of the same form. Now it is no longer just about the figure, but about the folds, layers and asymmetry.

Croissant bags can find a retro influence in their similarities to the Fendi baguette, absolutely. But there is a more subtle force at play. Barrionuevo owes the success of the croissants to the return of the whole category to soft and buttered leather, which it equates to the sensation of soft gloves or a hug and that we last saw such prevalence two decades ago. Back on Instagram, the hashtag #stickofbutter (as created by the director of the brand Man Repeller Harling Ross) reviews the outfits in shades from head to toe of creamy yellows.

Over the past two seasons, we've seen creators really explore a sweetness reminiscent of the 90s and 2000s, especially through draping, picking and gathered fabrics, says Celenie Seidel, editor-in-chief of women at Farfetch. A similar softness has also developed a significant presence in the bag trends that we have seen in curved, pleated, feminine shapes, resembling croissants.

It is not really surprising that at this time of mature cultural and societal upheavals gravitate towards softness, warmth and security in all aspects of our life, including clothing and accessories. It is the same psychology that could explain our current fixation on scintillating, scintillating or otherwise sweet color palettes. So while croissant bags may represent our desire for collective comfort, candied handbags like those of Susan Alexandra or a little less literal, From afar can represent some sort of saccharin escape. Like something you might find in a pastry window, these bags are as precious as a mille-feuille encrusted with strawberries.

A Susan Alexandra pearl handbag in the shape of a watermelon may not be as minimalist in theory, but the humble croissant bag certainly is. And with such a playful silhouette, it is a more unique alternative for those who wish to immerse themselves in the midland between the maximalism of Gucci and the simplicity of The Row. It's both original and really easy to wear, explains Anne-Laure Mais, influencer based in Paris, who, after years of blogging under the pseudonym Adenorah, launched her clothing line Musier in April 2018. I also think it's very practical, which is very important for a bag.

After all, Mais is the verified expert here: As the quintessential French fashion star, Mais has made a multi-channel affair from his Parisian sensibility which, memorablely, has gone as far as carry a real wand on a chain and call it a purse.

Given the airy texture of the croissants, it is not recommended to crochet a handful on a chocolate loaf of Bread and Ides and stuff it to get your matcha. But that doesn't mean the form has no legs: expect to find croissant bags in the fashion lexicon for the coming seasons. Designers are becoming more and more adventurous in their exploration of accessory shapes, and I think we can expect to see this current trend continue to develop and transform into new iterations, says Seidel. And if you look to the future, wouldn't you like to find a puffy and shiny brioche tucked away in your grocery basket as well as hanging in your closet?