Dettaglio del documento
The bag : 200 years, 5 continents
Abstract
Whether for evening or daytime, carried by hand or over the shoulder, sparkling with beads and rhinestones, as precious as a diamond or effortlessly casual in fabric, rustic in rope or daring in brass: the bag is the accessory-obsession that has always accompanied us, a love at first sight that has travelled through the centuries to the present day.
[...]
Much more than a cult object, it is our emotional first-aid kit, our true home away from home, an entire universe of secrets held in the palm of a hand.Revealing the hidden stories behind this enduring love affair is The Bag. 200 Years, 5 Continents, the new volume by Antonio Mancinelli, published by Marsilio Arte. Through a rich selection of 300 extraordinary examples from five continents, the book explores the universe of this archetypal object from the early nineteenth century to the present day, overturning the conventional narrative of the fashion system to reveal what this everyday extension of ourselves truly represents: an authentic “emotional archive” and a portable psychological refuge.
As Mancinelli writes at the end of his introductory essay: “The bag is therefore a mirror of its time: in periods of abundance it becomes lavish; in times of war it is reduced to essential functionality; in moments of social change, its shape and role evolve along with people themselves. Reading history through bags is rather like emptying the great bag of humanity and observing the objects that fall out: stone tools, imperial seals, coins, rosaries, cosmetics, smartphones… Each tells a different chapter, yet all are connected by a common thread: the act of containing and carrying things with us.”
The volume unfolds through a taxonomic narrative structure that abandons rigid academic chronology in favour of the authentic rhythms of our days, seasons and lives as they unfold. The book is organised around the different occasions of use that have punctuated everyday life over the past two centuries: from functional daytime bags to precious evening pieces, from bags designed for dances, the theatre and ceremonies to large travel luggage, before moving on to bags for leisure, first love and even the eccentricities of the Wunderkammer. It is a kaleidoscope of forms, materials and decorations that celebrates the extraordinary inventiveness of designers — from fine leathers and silks to engraved metals and visionary plastics — while bearing witness to women’s increasing presence in public life and the evolution of their social condition.
The book’s great originality lies in its unprecedented iconographic research, conducted across major international archives to capture the bag in its natural habitat. In a deliberately unconventional choice, it avoids detached runway photography in favour of works of visual art, sequences from great films and historical photographs. Many previously unpublished images portray both ordinary women, captured in their everyday lives with the bags that accompanied them, and legendary personalities who helped make some of the most celebrated designs timeless. These range from bags associated with international icons such as Jacqueline Kennedy and Jane Birkin to period photographs portraying unforgettable figures of Italian popular culture such as Ornella Vanoni and Raffaella Carrà. [Fonte: sito editore]