Just recently I was confounded by the logistics of Christian Louboutin’s Artemis shoulder bag, spiked so heavily on the strap you’d have to be a masochist to take pleasure in carrying it. I’ve got to hand it to the Paradis for originality (and softness, by comparison), but it’s still somewhat of an assault, just more of an attack on the eyes than the jugular.
I love a jolt of exoticism as much as the next person, but there is something almost violent about this calfskin-and-feather shoulder bag. As if a black-capped chickadee, Canadian goose, and a ferocious swan got in a scuffle and ripped each other to shreds. There are times when feral glamour can be successful (just look at Alexander McQueen) and times when you get the sense the designer is trying way too hard to shake a tail feather.
Birds’ own plumage is determined by their sex and social status – what do you think? Would this wild thing up your feminine ante or make you look plain old cuckoo? On Luisa Via Roma