As someone who was lucky enough to work on the Louis Vuitton design team with both Marc Jacobs and then subsequently, Nicolas Ghesquière,  Georgian fashion designer Demna Gvasalia is finally at the Creative helm with his Balenciaga debut. Now here’s how I thought he fared when it came to the bags..

For me, there were some hits, but also some misses where the FW16 bags are concerned. My favourites were the squarish boxy styles and the structured hobo hybrid which is quite brilliant, really, because hobo bags are supposed to be slouchy, so I really loved how he maintained the hobo shape, but adding some structure to it for a much sturdier silhouette. These 2 styles, in my opinion, maintained that classic Balenciaga aesthetic that we have come to adore. The long clutch was, well, nothing spectacular because, while minimalist and made of buttery soft leather, this style can literally be found virtually anywhere.  The HUGE miss for me, was the oversized shopper totes, which really reminded me of the Chinese red, white, and blue bags, commonly used by street vendors to stow their items, and also ala Céline’s FW13 collection, where I also shared a similar comment.

The one thing I LOVED the most, though, was this pump!! How gorgeous does this look? *cue emoticon with heart eyes*, oh be still, my beating heart…

Images via Vogue Runway