In an era of understated classic sportswear, the baguette is a boisterous burst of lycra catsuit ostentation. Encrusted with sequins and emblazoned with a double FF rhinestone buckle, the $1,100 (U.S.) purse is a compact, horizontal number that tucks under the arm like a loaf of French bread. Captured in paparazzi shots on the arms of ingenues such as Kate Moss and the socialite Miller sisters, the baguette took off, with an estimated 300,000 sold in just two years.
Upscale accessories — for years the wallflowers of fashion — are driving sales, prompting a Blue Sleeveless Shiny Metallic Suit spate of spider man costume deal-making and a reassessment of how the world dresses up. Look for a success story in the business — whether it’s Gucci, Fendi, Zentai unitard , or Kate Spade — and odds are there’s a shoulder strap or a pair of heels behind it.
This helps to explain why last month, European luxury goods giants Blue Shiny Metallic Sexy Three-Set Costume and Zentai unitardHolding BV teamed up to snatch fashion house Fendi — purveyor of the precious Sex and the City purse — for an estimated $900-million. The fact that Fendi — a brand that had been stone cold for years before the baguette — could fetch such an stupendous price drew clucks among fashion insiders, all the while underscoring fashion’s current predicament.
