We've had Chloe's Nile Bracelet bag and Fendi's Micro Peekaboo, but the latest brand that has us wanting to downsize our handbag is Delvaux. Launching today is Les Miniatures Belgitude, a collection of seven miniature versions of Delvaux's iconic handbag, the Brilliant, which was originally designed in 1958.
Measuring approximately just 11.5 x 8.5 x 5cm, the limited edition collection pay homage to its Belgian heritage with each box calf leather bag themed around a different Belgian city. Think Magritte's bowler hat, Brussel sprouts and even les frites.
Described as 'cheery little ambassadors of Belgitude,' the brand teamed up with the Belgian filmaker Jaco van Dormael, to create a short film for each bag. The results are a string of surrealist pieces which bring the bags to life, fusing humour and fantasy with giant apples, mussel monsters and flying salt shakers.
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Speaking about the collaboration, van Dormael says: 'What appealed to me was the idea of playing with scale, building sets where you have the impression that the bag is big and then it’s little, that the apple next to the bag is smaller but in fact it’s bigger. There’s also a lot around food, mussels, fries, or Liège as waffles. We decided to make the city of Liège out of waffles from Liège, Ostend out of mussels, and the mussel man who delivers the bag of mussels, to make fields of fries... and, all of that makes you very hungry!'
And although, the bags themselves may be less than half the size of the original Brilliant, the craftsmanship is not. While the original Brilliant is comprised of 64 distinct pieces of leather, the mini versions are composed of up to 185 parts, doubling the creation process, not to mention the additional silk-screen printing, embossing and embellishment that also takes place at the Brussels atelier.
Launching just in time for the start of New York fashion week, we reckon these bags are going to be seen swinging off the arms of all the key bloggers and editors replacing last season's frow obsession with the 12cm Chloe Nile bag. Whereas during the height of Sex & The City mania a roomy tote bag big enough to carry your heels, diary and makeup bag like Carrie was a must-have, now a bag that just about fits your i-phone, keys and bank card is the ultimate status symbol.
After-all, who needs to lug everything around with them when your i-phone manages most of your lifestyle and Uber's rates means you don't need to bother with shoes suitable for public transport.
Net-a-Porter, Matches Fashion and Harvey Nichols all have sections dedicated to the 'Micro Bag' category ranging from Mansur Gavriel's 'Mini Mini bucket bags' for £355 to Mark Cross's £2,940 Python box bag, the style is also proving to be a hit on the high-street with, last year, sales of smaller bags rising by 200 per cent at Debenhams with sizes shrinking from 350 cubic inches to just 120 cubic inches.
Small and perfectly formed and good news for your back, what's not to like?
