I’ll be the first to admit that I do not understand high fashion, but I have to admit that I am absolutely perplexed by this $39,000 airplane-shaped bag that’s part of Louis Vuitton’s Fall/Winter men’s collection.
A Vogue article goes into the intentions behind the collection, which purports to be designer Virgil Abloh’s positioning of two masculine stereotypes together for contrast—namely, the tourist vs. purist archetypes. Which I was not really aware of being traditional masculine stereotypes, but I’m willing to roll with it. A lot of it positions Abloh’s varying experiences as a Black man in the arena of clothes, which is very cool.
Abloh explains the Tourist/Purist dichotomy as: “It’s my organizing principle for my point of view when I make things. A tourist is someone who’s eager to learn, who wants to see the Eiffel Tower when they come to Paris. The purist is the person who knows everything about everything.” His goal, then, is to transform everyday objects into wearable art.
Which I assume is where the airplane-shaped keepall bag comes in. It’s adorned with the traditional LV logo patterns, and it has an almost cartoonish shape that’s really adorable.
But for $39,000? The price of a brand new car? I simply cannot cope. It’s an item I’d be more likely to give my kiddo on a travel day than something I would unironically walk around with in an airport. I suppose if Abloh’s intentions are to change assumptions about archetypes, this… could…. be a way to do it?
It is simply beyond me. I’ve been relying upon my husband to impress upon me the importance of owning brand-name wallets and purses, and I finally caved and bought a Kate Spade wallet with a pink Cadillac on the front—which was already too expensive for me and just barely ticked over three numbers on the price tag. But a $39,000 bag?
Where’s Fancy Kristen when you need her?
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