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NEW YORK - The Hermes "Kelly" and "Birkin" handbags are perennials, while this season Marc Jacobs "Stam" and Yves Saint Laurent "Downtown" handbags are among the ones to be seen wearing, but what exactly makes an 'It' bag?
Celebrities and magazine editors do, according to those in the industry.
"The 'It' bag is of the season, hot off the runway, instantly recognisable and identifiable as an accessory for those in the know and with the budget to indulge," said Avril Graham, beauty and fashion director at Harper's Bazaar magazine.
"It's identified at the shows by top editors as a must have bag," she said. New York's semi-annual Fashion Week is underway this week, with hundreds of designers showing fall collections.
She said while the lifespan of an 'It' bag usually only lasts a single season, there were exceptions to the rule, such as the Hermes "Kelly" and "Birkin" bags -- named after Princess Grace of Monaco in 1956 and actress Jane Birkin in 1984.
The waiting list for these bags, which cost several thousand dollars, is reportedly up to six years.
For New York handbag designer Nicole Guttman, whose label Socoley is about to release its second season of bags, producing an 'It' bag is something she can only dream of for the moment, but she has already had a taste of the power of celebrity and magazines.
Sending handbags to actresses Heather Graham, Naomi Watts and Keri Russell paid off with publicity in gossip and fashion magazines, she said.
"I do believe that celebrities play a large role in making an 'It' bag," Guttman said. "It did grab people's attention when we were mentioned and they read about celebrities with our bags."
Harper's Bazaar's Graham agreed.
"There's no question that product placement plays a major role," she said.
"If you see someone that is instantly identifiable as perhaps a fashionable person, someone like a Kate Moss, for example, can propel something into instant stardom by carrying it and wearing things in her own particular way."
Rafe Totengco, accessories designer for Rafe New York, said a modern woman's handbag is like her "armour" and in The Handbook of Style, published last month by Quirk Books, he warns women to think carefully when investing in a handbag.
"There will always be an of-the-season handbag that you crave -- be it signature shape, animal print, real fur, bead encrusted or simply because Kate Moss is wearing it -- but the major bags in your wardrobe should fall into five style categories," he said.
He said these styles were the hobo, the clutch, the top handle, the shoulder bag and the tote.
- REUTERS
