Bags as a favorite and luxury accessory: how it all began

2024-10-13 10:20:00

Grace Kelly fell in love while filming Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief. In a prop that she no longer wanted to give away even after the 1954 film: a bag with the model name “Sac à Dépêches” from the luxury brand Hermès. The bag became world famous only two years later, when the newly married Princess of Monaco was photographed with her favorite accessory. Legend has it that she used the bag to try to hide her growing baby bump. The image appeared in magazines around the world, and from then on the fashion house called its model “Kelly Bag”.

$4,000 and a five-year wait

Whether it’s Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy, Jane Birkin or Lady Diana, they’ve all contributed to how handbags can transform into iconic luxury goods that people are not only willing to pay big bucks for, but also accept. years of waiting. An exceptionally realistic picture is provided by an episode of the series “Sex and the City”, in which Samantha Jones, the most outspoken of the quartet of New York friends, wants to buy a coveted Birkin bag from Hermès. The price: $4,000 and a spot on a five-year waiting list. To her astonished question: “For a bag?”, the seller replied with contempt: “It’s not a bag, it’s a Birkin!”

Grace Kelly used it to hide her baby bump: the “Kelly Bag” by Hermès.Image Alliance

The major exhibition “Always with you: the bag” in the German Leather Museum in Offenbach now offers a comprehensive insight into the cultural history of the bag. The exhibition features 224 artifacts, most of which come from the existing inventory. “It is very important for us to underline that we don’t just deal with bags, not even women’s bags,” says museum director Inez Florschütz. For the exhibition the Leather Museum collaborated with the “Accessory Design” course of the University of Pforzheim. Among the historical objects, visitors were able to discover student bag creations.

From bag to handbag

The history of the bag began with a bag. Container used since ancient times by man. The Copper Age Ötzi glacier mummy, found in 1991 in the South Tyrolean Alps, already carried a bag with it, says curator Leonie Wiegand. The oldest bag on display, however, is a tiny bag from Egypt. The archaeological find was used to transport a medical instrument and dates back to around 1000 BC.

A look at the Middle Ages shows that initially the bag was a men’s accessory. Due to the lack of pockets sewn into clothing, men wore pouches to carry coins, seals, or keys. Merchants and especially the bourgeoisie had such bags; the nobility hardly had to bring anything with them. “The development in bag design has a lot to do with social developments. Women’s empowerment plays a crucial role,” says Wiegand. Simply put, the exhibit makes clear: As women’s influence in social affairs increased, so did the size of their bags, as they simply had to carry more things on their own.

The 19th century traveling bag was the precursor to the women’s bag.German Leather Museum, M. Url

In the second half of the nineteenth century, due to the expansion of the railway network, the first travel bags came into fashion. “More women were traveling too. Large bags specifically went in the carriage, but you still wanted to have things with you,” explains Florschütz. The prototype is the travel bag made of sturdy leather with a secure closure. It was the forerunner of the classic women’s bag, which became a daily companion for women in Europe from the beginning of the 20th century.

Artfully crafted: a medicine bagGerman Leather Museum, M. Url

The exhibition features some sophisticated examples from the 20th century, such as a simple-looking bag that has an elaborate lighting system inside it. An integrated lamp illuminates the mirrors for applying make-up and powder. Even when the bag is closed, it projects light through an integrated window to help the wearer find the front door lock.

Christian Dior also came to Offenbach

The exhibition also offers an insight into Offenbach’s leather goods history: the Goldpfeil company was founded in Kaiserstrasse in the mid-19th century. The traditional leather goods manufacturer has quickly established itself in the international professional world. After the Second World War, Christian Dior even came to Offenbach to set up a pattern making workshop. Jil Sander also had her bags made by Goldpfeil, which is why the museum has several in its collection. In addition to the luxury brand Comtesse, Goldpfeil was part of the former Egana Goldpfeil group, which operated subsidiaries internationally. After the group’s bankruptcy in 2008, Tchibo acquired rights and licenses from Goldpfeil, but has no longer actively marketed them since 2011.

The exhibition in the design chapter does not skimp on luxury. Here you can see them: the famous “Di Bag” by Todds, named after Princess Diana, the “Kelly Bag” and a contemporary adaptation of the “Jackie 1961” by Gucci. The designer bags on display are contrasted with videos by Volkan Yilmaz aka Tanner Leatherstein. In his clips, viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Tiktok and YouTube, he breaks down luxury items into their individual parts to examine their quality and whether they are worth their price. His estimate usually differs significantly from what brands have asked for their bags.

At the end of the exhibition, visitors can unleash their creativity, discovering the process of producing a bag using patterns and materials. Or design the bag of your dreams. Perhaps the future “Kelly Bag”.

■ always with you: YOUR BAG. Until 10 August 2025, German Leather Museum Offenbach, Frankfurter Straße 86, Wednesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am to 6pm, open on the second Thursday of the month until 8pm.