In her first collection as creative director for the luxury house, Gabriela Hearst has brought an iconic Chloé bag back from the archives. The bag in question is the much-loved Edith style, which was made popular during the mid-to-late 00s. The Edith holds special significance for Hearst, who says the carryall was actually the very first luxury handbag she owned 16 years ago.
But rather than just revive the classic, Hearst chose to put her own sustainable spin on the design and finishes. The Uruguay-born New York native is renowned for pioneering environmentally-friendly practices in her namesake label, so it was only natural that this should extend to her tenure at the French house.
Throughout the show, models carried vintage Edith bags that had been up-cycled and given a new lease on life with excess fabric from the garments, including leather scallop pieces, recycled cashmere and tubular cotton fringe, deadstock shearling and studs. 50 of these will be available to buy alongside Chloé’s original Edith iteration.
“My first luxury handbag was the Chloé Edith bag and it is a piece I still love and wanted to pay homage to,” explains Hearst in her design notes. “This season, the Edith bag has been re-issued staying true to its original design. The new Edith family includes bags in recycled cashmere or with recycled jacquard, and it is offered as a mini version, a tote and a doctor’s bag.”
The Edith bag recalls a notable period in the house’s history when Chloé was pumping out some of its most covetable bags. Then-designer Phoebe Philo had achieved astronomical success when it came to accessories, most memorably via a millennial mainstay – the padlock-laden Chloé Paddington bag. Hearst’s predecessor, Natacha Ramsay-Levi, gave a nod to the nostalgic style with 2019’s Aby bag, but we’ve yet to see the slouchy top-handle return in its first form.
In its hey-day, the Paddington was worn by everyone from Kate Bosworth to Courtney Love, and was dubbed the original ‘It Bag.’ Perhaps with Hearst at the helm and her documented penchant for sustainability and resurrecting bags of bygone eras, we’ll soon see it sitting alongside the Edith in collections to come.
