Longchamp’s new line is for the young

IN 1965, Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland declared the world was being held hostage by “youthquake” (a word coined by her, which made a resurrection in 2017 as Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year). She wrote: “The year’s in its youth, the youth in its year. Under 24 and over 90,000,000 strong in the US alone. More dreamers. More doers. Here. Now. Youthquake 1965.”

Going by Longchamp’s latest collection, unveiled at the Enderun Colleges’ campus on Feb. 28, it seems that the fashion world is ruled by the young. The collection, titled “Longchamp University,” gets a feel of college life, as shown in several bags perfect for school (but older folk can join in on the fun too).

The bags were in a pile next to a photo wall, where pretty young things could take pictures holding them. Cocktails and games abounded during the event, as were very youthful dorm-life symbols like lockers and vending machines.

The bags included the round purple Box-trot Crossbody bag XS, with a shoulder strap, and an all-around zip closure. The Longchamp logo, enlarged, is embossed on the bag’s entire surface. A smaller, more formal bag is the Box-trot’s medium-sized sister, in black, with the logo of Longchamp’s jockey forming a clasp. The Essential Toile Crossbody bag in ecru is boat-shaped and has the brand printed in black letters on the canvas. Labelled as a crossbody because of its long strap, a second smaller strap makes it convertible into a nifty little shoulder bag worn under the arm. Its Essential sister also comes in tote form, with green piping and the brand’s name.

Meanwhile, the Le Foulonné Crossbody is a more sophisticated sibling of high school messenger bags, in a prim rectangular shape and executed in chic cowhide leather (it does cost P29,500 on the Rustan’s website). The line also comes as a backpack, with zippers at the top of the bag and in the middle, executed in navy and tan. For nights out, think of the Le Foulonné handbag variety, in a relaxed trapezoid shape.

Of course, the brand’s most ubiquitous line, the Le Pliage, gets the “youthquake” treatment too, with new colorways including in opalescent silver, soft pink, printed with the Longchamp name like in varsity letterman jackets, and in a charming touch, denim printed all over with daisies.

Longchamp is exclusively available at Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s Shangri-La, Rustan’s Cebu, Greenbelt 5, Rustans.com and Trunc.ph. — Joseph L. Garcia