
After the adrenalin rush and joy that comes with the purchase of a new bag fades away, for many of us, our beloved purses take on a different role.
Beyond the colour of the leather or the fanciful handle design, we need our bags to work for us. They ought to be practical enough to carry our daily essentials, versatile enough that they can be worn with a variety of clothing, and durable enough that if we’re a little clumsy at times it wouldn’t result in heartbreaking damage.
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Yet in the converging paths of art and fashion, it seems like our bags have found a new role for themselves. For a select few clients, they have become carte blanche for artists to freely express their creative geniuses upon.
They’ve evolved beyond mere accessories of purpose.
A Dior bag that features paintings by Korean artist, Ha Chong Hyun, as part of the eighth edition of Dior Lady Art.
Photo: Courtesy of Dior
Each year, the House of Dior chooses new artists to create exceptional bag-meets-artwork creations under the Dior Lady Art marquee. Past editions of Dior Lady Art have seen the iconic Lady Dior bag reimagined with woven embroidery, oversized fabric bows and miniature paintings.
Meanwhile at Louis Vuitton, the brand continues to deepen its ties with the celebrated architect Frank Gehry. Unveiled last December at Art Basel Miami Beach, the showcase invited audiences to explore Gehry’s long-standing collaboration with the French House, including his famous Twisted Box, and the debut of a line of limited edition handbags under the “Louis Vuitton x Frank Gehry” tag.
From painted lambskin pieced together to resemble abstract blue flowers, to the iconic Capucines bag that recalls Gehry’s penchant for curving walls and angular shapes in his architecture projects, these rare pieces presented the best of Gehry’s repertoire with the revered skills of Louis Vuitton’s artisans.
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A Frank Gehry-designed Capucines bag for Louis Vuitton.
Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
“I’m glad that big fashion houses are willing to take the risk of paying homage to certain artists,” says Heart Evangelista, who is also known for her marquage artworks that she applies to her handbags. “Sometimes, it’s nice to celebrate the expression that art and creativity gives you.”
Evangelista’s marquage journey started when she had an accidental spill on a lizard skin Birkin bag, which left a mark that couldn’t be removed or covered up. “It was right then that I decided to use art as a way to cover it up, and from there, my whole exploration of painting on bags began.”
Heart Evangelista and one of her painted creations.
Photo: Courtesy of Heart Evangelista
Today, she has painted on several bags that belong to her or people reaching out to her, although she doesn’t always accept these requests.
“Over the years, there are more people asking for me to paint their bags, but I’ve not been accepting many of these requests,” she tells us. “I don’t want the process of painting on a bag to become commodified, because it loses its uniqueness. In a way, it’s like owning a couture dress, and if I do paint a bag, I want it to be special.”
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Marquage artist Cherin Sim at work.
Photo: Courtesy of Cherin Sim
It’s a similar sentiment shared by Cherin Sim, a Singaporean marquage artist with 15 years of experience.
Sim, who started painting on sneakers before moving on to bags, says that her regulars engage her artistic services because they can appreciate the value of and uniqueness it brings to them.
“A designer bag will always be a designer bag, but when you add marquage to the mix, then this bag with this picture painted on means that what you have is a one-of-a-kind piece,” she muses over a call. “And isn’t that very much like art? There are no two of the same original Rembrandt paintings.”
A previous work from Sim that pays homage to the famed waves by Japanese artist Hokusai.
Photo: Courtesy of Cherin Sim
Sim’s process first begins with a conversation between the client and herself, so that she can better understand the customer. She gets to know their likes, dislikes, personality quirks and so on, before she decides what gets painted. In this way, like how clients all have different personalities, no two designs are ever the same as well.
“I’ll chat with you like any friend would,” Sim explains. “And from there, I’ll proceed to design something. I like to keep the final design a surprise, because it challenges me as an artist to exceed your expectations.”
She also points out that while naysayers have trolled her with comments saying that marquage makes the bag look inauthentic or cheap, the return rate of her customers means she’s appealing to the right crowd. Those who get it, get it.
Sim’s process begins with a personal chat with customers, before she decides what artwork best represents their characters.
Photo: Courtesy of Cherin Sim
Perhaps, if there’s one irony, it’s this: fashion is known for its need to remain commercial, whereas commercialism in art is often a point of contention. Where artworks can hang on the white walls of a gallery for years, a piece of clothing that hangs on the racks more than three months is considered a commercial failure for many retailers. So how do these opposing ideals make fashion and art good bedfellows?
Sim challenges this, pointing out that on the flip side, if art is seen through a commercial lens, then it suggests that there is more to this relationship. She quotes the late Andy Warhol, who said that “making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art” as another way of defining this marriage.
This is also why Warhol’s work fixates on the commercialist nature of art—see his work on Campbell soup cans and vintage cars as a way of commenting on the way we perceive the value of things that we own.
When working with Sim, you can be assured that your artwork is one of one, as the artist does not repeat her illustrations.
Photo: Courtesy of Cherin Sim
“Sometimes, when I speak with young aspiring artists, the first thing I always tell them is that if they cannot make their art into a business, they can’t make it as an artist,” Sim declares. “You can have the best technique in the world, but if no one knows about your work and you don’t put yourself out there, you’re just a painter.”
There you have it: the driving forces behind the confluence between art and fashion, clearly defined.
For the consumer, this is their chance to own something entirely unique for themselves. These pieces aren’t just static canvases to be hung on their walls, rather, they become mobile status icons and another form of personal expression.
For Evangelista, she keeps her acceptance of marquage commissions to a constant low, which allows her customers to feel more special.
Photo: Courtesy of Heart Evangelista
For the artists and the brands, it’s the ability to leverage each other’s skills and reach to find new audiences and customers respectively. By creating one-of-one items, they are able to offer a new level of singularity; together, artists and brands are saying, “You’re the only one who can take home this bag.”
And when you think about it, the ability to provide individualism is one of the core values of what drives luxury today.