Teverything changes, to remain exactly as it was. This is how the latest campaign of the fashion house led by could be summed up Demnawhich has only one protagonist: the City Bag Balenciaga. The cult bag launched for the first time way back in 2000 conquers the target, renewed and revisited, worn by Kim Kardashian and by a choral and varied cast of testimonials. Despite the presence of other It Bags that have become synonymous with the success of the brand in recent years, from the model The Cagole until that Hourglassthe fascination for the Balenciaga City Bag seems to know no equals, both in the 2.0 and vintage versions.
Between Y2K aesthetics, Instagram style and new names to keep an eye on, Balenciaga is betting on the City Bag for 2024 too.
City Bag Balenciaga protagonist of the Closet Campaign
Shot and directed by the duo Inez & Vinoodhthe latest project from the Kering fashion house boasts as its location wardrobes with maxi dimensions, conceived as home museums where you can keep your collection of bags and accessories. New brand ambassador Kim Kardashian posed in her own wardrobe, holding the latest iteration of the Balenciaga City Bag. Among the other faces of the campaign, the plus-size model stands out Paloma Elsesserthe actresses Nicola Peltz And Roh Yoon Seothe American influencer and model Devon Lee Carlsonas well as the famous costume designer and stylist Patricia Fieldthe while behind the looks of Sex and the City.
How an icon is born
Balenciaga’s campaign has a specific intent: to celebrate the return of one cult bag. Conceived in 2000 by the then creative director Nicolas Ghesquière, the prototype of the accessory was received in a lukewarm manner within the maison, which only had 25 examples produced in view of the season’s fashion show. The future It Bag was in fact considered too floppy, soft and delicate, in stark contrast to the bags with a rigid and well-defined structure in vogue at the time. Furthermore, a clearly visible logo was missing, an (apparently) essential element for the success of an accessory.
Devon Lee Carlson in the latest Balenciaga campaign with the revisitation of the City Bag
Thanks to a practical and lightweight design, the City Bag was destined to become an evergreen accessory. One of the strengths of the bag was that aspect poised between present and past, between novelty and vintage, achieved thanks to the lambskin employed, chosen precisely to show the signs of time. It is said, for example, that Mary-Kate Olsenan actress at the time and now a celebrated designer of the brand The Row, had a mint-colored one which, due to wear and dirt, became grey. Kate Moss fell in love with the bag backstage at the show, setting off City Bag fever.
Kate Moss spotted in London in 2003 with her inseparable City Bag (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
The return of an It Bag
From the same Kim Kardashian to Sienna Millerfrom Sarah Jessica Parker to Beyoncé, there are many stars who have shown off the Balenciaga City Bag, helping to make it an icon of fashion and pop culture. For 2024 Demna seems determined to want go back to the origins, finally putting scandals and controversies aside, betting on an accessory with guaranteed commercial success. The renewed City Bag is distinguished by the lambskin with a wrinkled effect, the studs and the metal zips, as well as the charms and to the pendants, which wink at the Y2K style.
Among faces symbol of fashion industry and emerging names to keep an eye on, Balenciaga reignites the cult of an accessory that has never gone out of fashion.
Yesterday like today.
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