Lauren Sánchez was recently seen in Los Angeles carrying a luxury handbag shaped like a coffee cup. The Balenciaga design, crafted from calfskin, is priced at approximately £4,346.60, which is significantly higher than the average takeaway coffee in the UK. This extravagant item mimics the reusable Balenciaga coffee cup, made of porcelain and polypropylene and available for £85, as well as throwaway versions.
The trend of transforming everyday items into luxury accessories is not new. Historically, fashion has often appropriated the ordinary. For example, in the 18th century, Marie Antoinette popularized the shepherdess look, and more recently, brands like Vetements have released designs inspired by everyday objects. The French luxury brand's DHL T-shirt, for instance, riffed on the global logistics company's uniform, blending high fashion with everyday imagery.
Expert opinions on this trend vary. Orsola de Castro, an author and activist, views these designs as a vulgar continuation of a style that was once relevant. She argues that in the 1960s, Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup can series was a form of rebellion, but today's luxury bags merely exploit everyday items without making a meaningful statement. In contrast, Iain R. Webb, a professor of fashion and design at Kingston School of Art, sees this as a natural part of fashion's cyclical nature, where designers reinterpret everyday objects for new audiences.
Dr. Gaby Harris, a lecturer in fashion cultures at Manchester Metropolitan University, suggests that these luxury bags symbolize the wealthy's ability to appropriate mass-produced items while maintaining their exclusivity. She notes that in an era of rising coffee prices and stagnant incomes, such bags can be seen as a satirical commentary on the high cost of everyday necessities. "The coffee cup bag represents the inflation of goods and the privilege of those who can afford to mock it," Harris said.
The current trend also aligns with the cultural phenomenon known as boom boom, which celebrates the excess and opulence of 1980s culture. This aesthetic, which gained popularity in recent years, is a way for the American elite to assert their status in an era of economic uncertainty. The luxury coffee cup bag, with its high price tag and everyday subject matter, embodies the contradiction of displaying wealth through items that are meant to be mundane.
