When Chanel debuted its spring/summer 2018 bag collection, heads turned more than usual this year as the French fashion house sent a PVC version of their classic flap and tote down the runway. Trimmed with soft pastel pink, green and blue, the bag ushered in a transparent fashion trend that launched the incarnation of plastic bags by several other designer brands.
But plastic played an integral role in fashion long before Chanel’s see-through vision came to light, its presence spanning a history of over 80 years. Accidentally discovered in 1872 by a German chemist, scientists perfected PVC for commercial use in 1926.
Just four years later in 1930, fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who was once called the “Surreal Provocateur Who Forever Altered Fashion,” incorporated the synthetic material in her clothing – from exaggerated plastic zippers to see-through rain coats. She also used Rhodoid, a newly developed clear plastic to make a necklace decorated with metallic insects. It gave the illusion that they were crawling on the skin of whoever was brave enough to wear it.
In the 60s and 70s, plastic became a mainstay in the high fashion world. Paco Rabbanne, once a student of Schiaparelli’s, launched his debut show in 1966 called “Twelve Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Materials,” which included plastic. This in turn led Coco Chanel to nickname him the “metallurgist of fashion.”
When the 90s rolled around, it was time for Hermes to try out plastic. The French fashion house founded in 1837 as a leather goods shop for equestrians bucked their iconic look by giving away clear vinyl bags in 1996 as invitations to their Spring/Summer fashion show.
Created in memory of the 1995 Paris Terrorist Attacks and to make security checks smoother, the vinyl Kelly bag was such a hit that in 1997, limited quantities – and an orange version – were available for sale during an exhibition that spanned 1997 to 1999 called “Hermes Exhibition in the Wonderland.” They are now only available in resale and increasingly hard to find.
The newest incarnations of plastic on the runway will set you back anywhere from $2,600 to $3,900, but Chanel isn’t the only one getting in the barely there bag game.
Virgil Abloh’s debut Louis Vuitton collection for Spring/Summer 2019 featured stunning transparent monogram LV Keepalls complete with chain link straps. Even Prada, well known for their use of synthetic materials like nylon since Prada’s youngest granddaughter Miucca took over in the late 70s has a new plastic bag – a modern, transparent shopper tote with calfskins straps, selling at retail for just over $1,000.
It seems pretty clear: plastic is going to be sticking around for a while. Shop our collection of transparent bags and more on StockX, the easiest place online to buy and sell designer bags with a catalogue of over 20,000 items.
