The power of the bag!

Our ultimate fetish is now on display as a proper form of art!

Text: HELEN PAPAIOANNOU

From designer handbags to despatch boxes, vanity cases to military rucksacks, “Bags: Inside out”, an exhibition of over 300 bags at Victoria & Albert Museum explores our longstanding fascination with our fetish accessory, the bag. From Fendi to Off-White and from Margaret Thatcher to Sarah Jessica Parker, our global fashion obsession is put under the interesting cultural microscope of the museum: Function is the first section of the exhibition, where bags are examined simply as practical objects designed to hold our belongings. A large embroidered burse once used to protect the silver matrix of Elizabeth I’s Great Seal of England, a gas mask bag owned by HRH Queen Mary during the Second World War, Winston Churchill’s red despatch box and Vivien Leigh’s attaché case, create a singular microcosm of authenticity.

Status and Identity, the second section, looks at the central role of the bag in celebrity culture as well as its notoriety. Center stage is the Fendi ‘Baguette’ bag worn by and stolen from Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City, Thatcher’s grey Asprey handbag that leads the example of the bag is a symbol of power and the ‘I am NOT a Plastic Bag’ tote by Anya Hindmarch that gives visitors the typical fashion nod we all love.

Design and Making from sketch to sample, sewing to selling, is the third section, where collaborations between designers, artists and architects showcase innovative and often limited-edition collections such as the ‘International Woman’ suitcase by Tracey Emin for Longchamp.

If you think about it, this exhibition literally deconstructs these everyday items that, sometimes, become valuable pieces of art.

Bags: Inside Out V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) on now until Sunday, 16 January 2022 https://www.vam.ac.uk/