An iconic bag stakes its claim
KUALA LUMPUR — Here’s one for the bucket list: The iconic Noé bag is back. Like Harmony-Korine-on-Spring-Break back. Like Justin-Timberlake-in-his-suit-and-tie back. (Blech, JT).
The Noé, a drawstring bucket tote you may remember from your mom’s wardrobe, first emerged from the annals of Louis Vuitton in 1932, a prolific decade for the brand, thanks to the arrival of the Speedy, Alma and Keepall.
Label lore has it that a champagne maker approached Gaston Louis Vuitton, grandson of the original founder, to produce a stylish satchel to transport champagne bottles. Gaston fashioned a simple bucket silhouette, built to bear four bottles upright with a fifth fastened in the center upside down.
Originally crafted in pale gold leather to mimic the champagne it was designed to convey, the Noé got a makeover in the ’60s, resurfacing in the label’s emblematic Monogram in a more supple canvas. In 1999, it emerged in a new form — smaller, dubbed the Petit Noé — in a variety of finishes, from the Damier Azur to Epi. Your mom probably sported the bag at a Billy Joel concert or, if she enjoyed a candy-colored Epi, a Cindy Lauper performance.
Next month, on the first of May if you want to be precise, Louis Vuitton will debut its latest incarnation of the style. Called the Noé BB, the iconic purse now boasts diminutive dimensions and a longer strap, ready to be slung along the body like a messenger.
At the Louis Vuitton trends presentation in KL, an entire wall was devoted to the satchel. Colorblocked, monogrammed and pastel-hued variations dotted the wall, while two models in LV pre-fall 2013 posed wearing the Noé BB. Not so large it overwhelms their spare frame, the bag’s compact measurements encourage wearers to pack lighter — maybe an iPad or Kindle, along with the usual essentials. Hold the champagne.
