Being able to design a runaway success It-bag is an essential creative and commercial skill an artistic director must possess. Executing such an accessory can transform a brand in reach and revenue, ensuring the label can be seen dangling from well-dressed arms world over, simultaneously ensuring a long lasting legacy in handbag history.
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Someone who has always been a dab hand at doing just this - and speaks to why he finds himself at the start of a second decade at the world's biggest luxury brand, Louis Vuitton - is Nicolas Ghesquière. The French designer is the name behind a flurry of bags that have shaped accessory trends over the course of the last few decades. Perhaps most famous is Ghesquière's creation of the City bag during his Balenciaga tenure, which continues to trend — both new and resale — today, 25 years after he designed it and gave it the original name of the Lariat bag. His 10 years at Louis Vuitton have been particularly fruitful, too.
Consider that the GO-14, Twist and celebrity-favourite Petite Malle amongst others have all been born in his LV era and it proves that Ghesquière has bags of experience in creating what we want to carry now and next. And yet there's something that feels particularly special about his latest for Louis Vuitton.
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Debuted on the Paris Fashion Week catwalk at the SS25 show, the top-handle LV Biker has all the makings of the next great It-bag. While other bags often get swept up in complicated design details, the LV Biker comes with an understanding that a bag needs to be functional to work with the carrier's lifestyle — much like bags that have achieved such status already, namely the Chloé Paddington and City bag. However, that's not to say that exceptional design detail has not been employed in its creation. Louis Vuitton has looked to its rich history of trunk-making to employ new techniques to bring the lambskin bag to fruition.
The house explains that the style has been inspired by the idea of 'soft power' and takes its name from the fact it has been inspired by classic biker jackets and 'combining resilience with elegance'. It feels not only an extension of LV's current aesthetic but of Ghesquière's personal one too as the designer is regularly photographed wearing a leather jacket of his own. The LV Biker feels like a natural successor to Ghesquière's previous It-bag successes, in execution and inspiration.
Of course, when it comes to turning a bag from a great buy to an It-item, celebrity endorsement helps. In the case of this style, the well-heeled credentials have been coming in thick and fast, especially and unsurprisingly with Louis Vuitton's house ambassadors who have naturally been quick to pick up the Biker, in all sizes and colours. Emma Stone, a longtime Louis Vuitton girl, chose the smaller option in a classic black, while those including Alicia Vikander, Sophie Turner, Jasmine Jobson have also been spotted carrying their Biker preference, as it comes in three sizes and shades.
The simplicity of the style also makes it primed to be vehicle for decoration, which is what The White Lotus' Lisa did to her Biker. The musician-cum-actor decorated hers with a slew of LV charms to prove its ability for personalisation and to tap the bag charms trend.
Thanks to its notable credentials, the LV Biker has all the making of the next great It-bag to join the list of classics that endure beyond the changing seasonal trends that come and go. Race to it!
Louis Vuitton Nano LV Biker Bag
Louis Vuitton LV Biker PM Bag in grey
Louis Vuitton LV Biker PM Bag in black
Louis Vuitton LV Biker MM Bag in dark denim
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