Jean Paul Gaultier leaves his mark on Hermes!

When Jean Paul Gaultier joined Hermes seven years back, I remember thinking it was a very odd match. A brand that represented understated elegance was to be headed by someone whose brand stood for anything BUT understated! It didn't quite make sense. Two days back however, JPG announced his departure from Hermes after their Spring-Summer 2011 collection in October.

I LOVE Hermes! I own a lot of their clothes, some pieces of accessories, I practically live in their Oran sandals (the one with the "H" on them.. I have them in at least 5 different colours) and I absolutely ADORE their bags. I remember putting a global hunt out for my first birkin, that I finally acquired some 7 or 8 years back- long before their first store opened in Dubai. My sister acquired her first birkin almost a decade back! It has now become one of those bags that almost everyone and their mothers have, and has really lost its meaning, and I  use my regular leather ones only for traveling. If you are thinking of getting your first birkin now, DON'T! Get a Kelly instead- not as popular, and for that very reason, probably a lot more chic!

Going back to JPG, seven years later I can see now the wonders he did with the brand, making it slightly more edgy while retaining it's original sophisticated appeal. Here are some of the funkier bags he came out with-

1) The shadow birkin- 

It's the original birkin with a bit of a twist! Costing $11,000 without any of of the hardware is not really my cup of tea, although this would be a fabulous collector's item. You know you've got an iconic bag when Marc Jacobs, who could carry anything out of his own collection or Louis Vuitton's for that matter, is spotted carrying one-

2) Silky Pop and Silky City-

These bags are a great take on the Hermes scarves, and are not only gorgeous but are great to travel with. The silky pop actually folds out of a small wallet-like pouch, and can be slung over the shoulder after opening out. I love the silky city and think it is such a gorgeous bag and so convenient! You can just wear it as a cross bag when you want to go out and have your hands free.

3) Kelly Danse-

Unfortunately, this was the only nice picture I could find of this bag online. It can either be used as a clutch, or it has straps at the back that convert it into a cross bag. I had seen this bag two years back while visiting Boston with my best friend, and she made me not buy it. BIG mistake! Now that the cross-style is in, it's very hard to get one.

4) The Lindy-

Here is a picture of Naomi Campbell with her Orange Lindy. I love the two-tone versions of this bag like this one-

(taken from Purse Blog)
5) The Constance Elan-

I'd mentioned the Constance in my post here, and this is the new take on the classic, which is longer than the original. I took a picture of this bag last week at the Hermes in Dubai Mall, so if you like it maybe you can try your luck to see if it's still there (doubt it). I like the original better, but this shape is also very interesting-similar to the Chanel 2.55.

It's usually very difficult for a company to come out with ONE "it" bag every few years, but as you can see, Jean Paul Gaultier has been successful coming out with new ones as well as reinventing the look of the old cult classics. It now has to be seen whether Christophe Lemaire, the current Creative Director of Lacoste who will be taking over JPG's reigns, will be just as successful.