Societal norms are being kicked to the curb, with more men changing the outlook of handbags in the fashion industry.
Men's fashion keeps evolving and growing as it involves additions to men’s accessory collection. With the Menswear Fashion Week underway, there has been a rise in the fusion of handbags in the new collections showcased at Fashion Week.
The men’s bag collection has gone from ordinary crossbody bags or backpacks to a full-blown premium fashionable accessory. Now South African men are starting to embrace them more broadly.
Fashion stylist Jabulile Mthiya tells us that, “They are increasing in popularity mainly due to the items we now carry around with us, too large and heavy to fit into trouser pockets.”
“These modern men bags are much more than just masculine handbags, they are smart, useful and varying shapes and sizes mean that there is one for every purpose,” Jabulile says.
Jian DeLeon, men’s fashion director at Nordstrom, tells Vogue, “It used to be that sneakers were purses for men, and then men really embraced bags as part of an increased interest in looking good and engaging with fashion.”
Though the concept of gendered clothing continues to feel less necessary with designers themselves increasingly blurring the lines or showing gender-neutral collections, there's still an appetite for defined his and hers collections, Elle reports.
Handbags add to an outfit and, according to Fast Company, in the Middle Ages bags morphed into a form of self-expression. Vogue report that the rise in handbags among men is in some ways a hangover from the crossbody bag trend, which peaked in around 2018 in line with the streetwear boom as seen with the likes of Gucci and Supreme.
The likes of Maphoria, Kabza de Small, A$AP Rocky, Focalistic, to mention a few, have changed people’s perspective on carrying handbags and pushing boundaries.
According to Who What Wear, without brands like Coach collaborating with male-style icons (like Lil Nas X) to create capsule collections, the appeal of men's bags could have been lost to the larger collective.
Fashion houses are lauding more men into the use of handbag, the likes Gucci, JW Anderson, Hérmes, Ferragamo and more.
READ MORE | Basics of beard care, plus how to rock the grey look like Thapelo Mokoena and other stars
Celeb men who incorporate handbags.
