Fashion month is over, but it's certainly not forgotten.
The weeks ahead will see us trying to decipher the new trends spotted both on and off the catwalk. The street style scene once again offered a ton of sartorial inspiration and the debut of several 'it' items. Since the shows wrapped up we've been poring through hundreds of images and, in the process, we think we have uncovered the bag of the season.
There were a few noteworthy handbag styles on the streets of New York, London, Milan and Paris—from Rejina Pyo's rectangular croc creation to Shrimps' ever-evolving beaded bag—but they were all trumped by a relatively unknown underdog: BOYY bags.
The label's sleek square bags, featuring a single oversized buckle, became the fashion set uniform.
BOYY is the brainchild of husband and wife duo Jesse Dorsey and Wannasiri Kongman, who founded the accessory brand in 2006.
Dorsey explains it was his wife's love of handbags that caused him to embark on the venture: "When we first met in New York City, I was in the music business working mostly as a producer. Wannasiri had a contagious obsession with handbags which soon infected me. We used to walk the streets of downtown NYC analysing and critiquing bags women were wearing. This went on for weeks and weeks until one day we decided to stop talking about bags and start designing them... we literally started from zero."
What the couple created was a minimalist's dream: a hero buckle bag, boasting a classic yet contemporary silhouette. "Our philosophy from day one was that a woman’s handbag should have a masculine edge to balance out a women’s femininity," explains Dorsey.
"We used to look at male personas who had influenced our lives and ideas and pay homage to them by imagining how such a being can be translated into a handbag, from character to colours to the touch," he says. This masculine inspiration is not only reflected in the brand's name, 'BOYY', but also in the names of the bags themselves - the product page showcasing Karl, Fred, Bobby, Romeo and Deon all for sale.
A decade on and the bags come in a variety of styles—from tote, mini, crossbody and shoulder—to endless colourways to suit any personal style—from plain black and tan hues, to playful pastels and bold colour-blocks. BOYY has also expanded into shoes, sunglasses, scarves and hats.
Stocked in some of the biggest worldwide fashion retailers, like Selfridges, Browns, Harvey Nichols and Net-A-Porter, and with flagship stores in Copenhagen and Bangkok, the price point ranges from £285 to £1,040, bang in the centre of that mid-range luxury sweet spot, which helped to acquire loyal fans, before finally hitting peak popularity during the most recent fashion week month.
About the recent burst onto the street style scene, Dorsey says: "We absolutely love it and couldn’t be more honoured.
"During our early days when we presented our collections during New York and Paris Fashion Week, we always found time to go outside the big shows where we knew street photographers would be lurking, We wanted to see the girls they’re shooting and what they’re wearing. We longed for this focus one day with our products."
Mission accomplished.
