I don’t know about you, but I love when a designer thinks outside the box when it comes to marketing. Take Donna Karan, whose current website homepage features a short entitled “Four Play” featuring Christina Ricci directed by Jake Sumner (yes, that would be the son of Sting and Trudie Styler). Ricci is featured in four different scenes that revolve around the designer’s versatile Eldridge bag: the dreamer, the paramour, the expressionist and the voyeur–perhaps all apropos descriptions of bag buyers. As cute and cheeky as Ricci is, the spotlight here is undoubtedly on the sensuous pleated calfskin leather carry-all, which can be worn four ways thanks to its convertible strap and snap buttons: cross-body messenger, open tote, buttoned-up bucket, or buttoned-down pochette. I usually despise one too many buttons, but they’re subtle here in the aim of creating a true hobo-like look. As Karan, whose bags I feel are underrated, says herself, “For the Bohemian who still wants her polish.” Speaking of which, the gunmetal diamond pendant elegantly tied to the strap is chic enough to make me want to resurrect my Prada robot tchotchkes from seasons past.
Donna Karan: The Eldridge $1495
