Bag With An Identity Crisis

Style On The Dot

February 13

But it could be one It bag for those who get the joke

We love many-things-in-one: Two-in-one, three-in-one, everything-in-one. We love the multi-functional and the multi-faceted so much that some brands know it and would tap our material ardour. One of them is MISCHF, the New York "art" collective that is often up to some, well, mischief that fashion folks happily lap up. The brand that refuses to be spelled with vowels lives up to their predilection for playfulness (or gags?) with their latest product (MSCHF is less of a fashion brand than a tangible commentary on fashion that can be retailed)—a bag that has more personalities than Gollum (who shares his self with just another, Smeagol). Or, to be more precise, a sufferer of dissociative identity disorder (DID).

The MSCHF handbag is a mash-up of others that women everywhere desire, intensely. These include recognisable details/parts/shapes from the It bags of Balenciaga, Celine, Dior, and, of course, Hermès (interestingly, Chanel isn't part of the mix). The result is a wonky sum of the Hourglass, the Luggage, the Saddle, and, no doubt, the Birkin, respectively. This is Victor Frankenstein's Creature's sibling in comely bag form or one conceived for the scientist's hideous mortal personification. And it is warped, as if a reflection in a hall of mirrors. This is not necessarily a practical bag (it does not appear to be particularly capacious), but it sure is a statement bag, just like Thom Browne's Hector is. And whether it would sit comfortably in the hand or on the arm isn't quite clear. It looks too much an installation art piece, scaled down to practicable proportion.

Going by the unwieldy—and positively unsexy—name Global Supply Chain Telephone (no communication device here!), the non-phone is based on the idea of a bag that is made of constituents from various bag-producing countries: China, India, Peru, Portugal, and given unclear or vague instructions on how they should be made, via telephone (presumably smart). The result is what is seen above. It is an amalgamation of different parts of known bags: The silhouette of the Hourglass (including the curved base), the curvaceous handle of the Luggage, the assymetrical form of the Saddle, and the recognisable flaps of the Birkin. Some might find the have-it-all consummation—for a mere US$650—fascinating or desirable. But with luxury brands deeply protective of their IPs, would MSCHF be receiving a cease-and-desist letter soon? Or, would Hermès and counterparts get the joke?

Photo: MSCHF