In 1999, John Galliano created the saddle bag, which was arguably the zenith of human creation. No Renaissance portrait, rock formation, or religious shrine could compare to the equine curves of Dior’s accessoire, bouncing under the arm of some heiress supermodel as she stomped a strobe-lit runway. In the twenty years that have passed, almost every major designer has snatched at its CD-monogrammed crown, proffering coussins, cassettes, and capucines, each of which have a unique appeal, but none embody the attitude of the original It bag.
Last season, however, on a rotating technicolour catwalk, Maria Grazia Chiuri birthed a new proposition: a shrunken bowling bag barely big enough to hold whatever the new iPhone is, stamped with the maison’s proper name, Christian Dior. Dangling from the crook of an index finger, the Vibe bag has been pitched as a protagonist in Dazed’s spring issue, brandished (quite feebly) by the cast of Justin French. Boasting a curation of Chiuri and Kim Jones SS22 looks – all spangled, slashed, and cowl-necked – the editorial pinballs between New York’s Chinatown and Hudson River. Click through the gallery above to see more.