They are the right mix of classic (a la Hermes Kelly in silhouette) with a highly pedestrian detailing in the whipstitched edges (a la Converse sneakers laces! or a baseball's red stitches). For urban fashionistas, this is a great bag for dressy casual and even boho casual styling...
[below image] baseball and the baseball stitch: It's so familiar and lodged into our unconscious memory, right? Great marketing idea!
From my research thus far, there have been many designer bags that used this whip stitch. Me personally, I didn't know it at the time, but, I did have a YSL Reversible Neo Shopper Bag which also had these "whipstitches" as a design element. I really loved that Neo bag, as it was extremely versatile in both the inside and out being totally different, as well as how the shoulder strap could be used in different ways. It was lightweight, held all my work stuff including books, umbrella, cardigan, and A4 paper. It was very urban and pedestrian, perfect streetstyle chic; it went with all my clothes!
Anywho... So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the whipstitch actually surfaced in Chanel's bag(s) and Alexander McQueen's bags most notably.
First, here are all of the various Chanel bags with whipstitching in them. Some are vintage and dates back to a couple decades ago, and the last two are fresh new ones~
I wonder though, if Alexander McQueen actually came up with the use of whipstitches as a "selling point" before Fendi... I think Fendi did an amazing job marketing it and making it a total sensation (I'm sure Karl Lagerfeld's genius is at work here...) but I remember how McQueen had these crazy dark mysterious deep yet funky campaigns well before anyone took interest in Amish slash Goth inspirations...
[above image] Basket Woven Hair at Mcqueen Spring 2011 Show
Below are images with Amish women with their braided hair.
OK. Anywho~ Let's look at McQueen's whipstitched bags next...
I love how wonderfully simple they are. They totally look like the prototypes for me of whipstitches making it into bag designs. Especially in the first black and white one, you can see how it's even a simpler form of the Fendi peekaboo whipstitch, down to its placement on the side edges...
[above images] Perhaps these were even before the black and white bag we just looked at. Here, it's completely comfortably in McQueen's Halloween Forever Land~
You can draw easy parallel with the characters from The Nightmare Before Christmas and how they were drawn and *stitched*...
Those McQueen ivory bags look like they just jumped off the set of The Nightmare Before Christmas LOL~!!
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If you want to see more designs that have these whipstitches... they are totally offered right now... All the brands seem to be catching on the trend...
Stella McCartney's been selling these heavy metallic embellished bags for years now... Even though here, the whipstitch is more of a sidekick than Hero... Seriously, well done Fendi for completely hitting the sweetspot on the use of whipstitches...
Gucci hobo bag with whipstitches on the side... Not really sure I like this design as much. The overall shaping and leather sheen here echoes Furla's signature designs too much. If it hadn't been for the wooden handle, I might not have suspected it was Gucci at all...
Burberry came up with this *confused* bag... I am sure this appeals to some ladies who like pragmatic yet rugged look, but it looks too cluttered for me... It's too casual to bring it to work, and overworked even... Yet too hardhitting to wear with ease for an actual weekend leisure outfit... I guess it's great for airport fashion when you need a sturdy bag to carry everything? Not versatile enough in my humble opinion...
Next up, two Chloe Hudson bags with whipstitching on them...
These are just too small for me to carry on a daily basis. The second design is much nicer, but it feels girly meets countryside to me. Not urban enough.
LOL~ Even Michael Kors is doing it!
This is quieter, compared with McQueen, feels more minimalist but country in comparison to Chloe Hudson with whipstitching...
But it's not cool and hip like Fendi's...
Below, I found two bags with whipstitching that I find quite pretty and wearable.
I didn't know these brands until tonight...
The boho-chic dusty rose calfskin one is called Hailey from Johnston(?).
The whit one which is a great daily bag is Milly Astor Whipstitched Bucket Bag.
Ooh~ the Tory Burch Marion Combo Crossbody Whipstitched Bag is really lovely too~ Very cute and wearable...
Here's the link to the collection of bags with whipstitching in them...
I left some out which I thought weren't that noteworthy...
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Moving on...
Here are the YouTube links to how to do the leather lacing & whipstitching!
I am super excited that there WERE videos on them!
Video 1: Leather lacing How to do the Whip Stitch by Richard Black
Video 2: Leather Lacing by Tandy Leather
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To conclude though, I would like to leave you with some more awesome Fendi Whipstitch bags because I think they're simply THE BEST~!!
Thanks for reading!
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