Fashion and Irony: The Revolution of 'Non-Bag Bags' and Surreal Accessories on Luxury Runways

Nov 11, 2024

Is it real or just a piece of cake? Is it a cotton shirt or leather? Is that pee stain real or just a print? While for most people, luxury fashion means beige cardigans and tailored pants, irony has found a permanent spot on the runway in recent seasons. What makes the latest releases from brands like Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga particularly intriguing is not so much the boldness with which they produce strange items, but rather the attention to craftsmanship they devote to these creations. After its debut on the runway in Bottega Veneta's Pre-Spring 2025 show, the oversized Richard Scarry’s Biggest Book Ever woven bag has been making rounds on the web as one of the most original items ever created by a luxury brand. Alongside it is the Hermès Camail, an enormous multi-purpose orange leather horse head that can transform into a mask or leg cover, made in collaboration with London-based designer Chiyang Duan, and also the Celery Bag by Moschino. By presenting hyper-realistic accessories resembling objects that have nothing to do with fashion, or others so absurd they almost lose all functionality, it’s as if the younger creative directors of luxury houses are poking fun at the very structure they belong to. While the old guard and luxury management cross their arms and stomp their feet, lamenting revenue losses and the crisis affecting most companies, some still have the desire to joke—perhaps because the crisis hasn’t really reached them yet.

Part of the “non-bag bags” trend takes inspiration from the deconstructed fashion of Martin Margiela’s era. One of the main examples comes from Martine Rose, who for FW24 created a shoulder bag shaped like a jacket in the classic '80s athleisure style beloved by the brand. Along similar lines, for SS25 Balenciaga introduced a tote bag shaped like a hoodie, complete with a zipper and logo on the chest. The brand, led by Demna, has been having fun creating unconventional bags for years: while the same season also launched a shoe box-shaped clutch, in the past the brand has invented pouches shaped like sneakers, chip bags, shopping bags, and trash bags—emphasizing the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Adding an unexpected twist to the trend, Miu Miu miniaturized all the brand’s most famous clothing items—cropped shirts, micro-skirts, hoodies, and shirts—into keychain versions to be used as Christmas ornaments or as a "trinket" to add to bags.

While new contenders seem to have all it takes to become the flag-bearers of the “non-bag bag” trend, the undisputed champions of the hyper-realist aesthetic remain JW Anderson and Moschino. The former has captured television and social media with clutches shaped like pigeons, hedgehogs, canaries, and puffins (Jonathan Anderson, the brand's creative director, foreshadowed this trend years ago with an elephant from Loewe), while the latter continues to captivate audiences with hyper-pop and hyper-Italian designs. Following in the footsteps of Jeremy Scott, Moschino's new artistic director Adrian Appiolaza presented accessories in the strangest shapes for SS25: detergent bottles, motorcycle helmets, coffee makers, and celery stalks. The vegetable-themed handbag recently went viral thanks to an Aldi supermarket meme poking fun at the price difference between the two products. In short, whether it’s a children’s book woven by Bottega Veneta, a Martine Rose jacket that’s actually a shoulder bag, or a healthy snack worth thousands of euros, irony remains an irresistible habit for younger designers. Who knows what to expect from their next releases—maybe a Thanksgiving turkey?