Is the Birkin-toting class the new bourgeoisie?

How owning a pricey handbag has become a symbol of elitism.

ISLAMABAD:

There’s the ghairat brigade, there’s the beghairat brigade and then there’s the Hermes Birkin brigade.

In a polarised society where might is right and pomp and show take precedence over a lot of important issues, the obsession of the upper-class socialites with European luxury brands is a secret to none. Who can forget our ex-foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s official trip to India where her Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses and $10,000 Birkin bag became the topic of all discussions and made headlines everywhere from New York Times to India Today.

In our label-obsessed upper-class society, one’s social status is judged by the price tag of one’s bag and unfortunately the trend is seeping out of social circles into life and style magazines and fashion blogs. “They are turning fashion into a bag business,” remarked Alber Elbaz, artistic director and head designer at French fashion house, Lanvin. The statement stands truer for Pakistan than anywhere where else, where newspapers and local glamour glossies are bombarded with oversized Louis Vuittons and Hermes Birkins.

Going by the profusion with which one gets to see these very expensive bags on women in the elite social circles of Karachi, Lahore and the likes, fashion seems to have come down to be all about these bags. There is very little coverage of high street and utilitarian side of the fashion; now it is all about the bag which comes at a price only a few can afford.

I am not defying the concept of luxury, but going by glossy magazine covers and scores of socialites gracing their pages, it seems as if one’s style quotient is measured solely on basis of how many ridiculously expensive yet extremely ordinary looking designer bags one owns. Even in the category of luxury goods, it’s the same old Chanel 2.55 and Birkin totes that are spotted in profusion with an occasional sighting of a Prada or a Givenchy tote — the point being that only the ones that are instantaneously recognisable and known for their heavy price tags are the ones one gets to see the entire Lahore carrying.

While, in the hindsight, the urge to acquire accessories and amenities that are associated with elitism and luxury can’t be termed as a truly unnatural obsession, the whole exercise has triggered a very unhealthy trend. Magazines and glossies have started dedicating full-page coverage to shed light on what’s the latest goody in town and whole bag spotting has become quite a toilsome parade — studied, pondered over and analysed in more detail than a complex algebraic hypothesis.

CEO Hello Pakistan Zahraa Saifullah, who is also an avid fashionista and a bag enthusiast, finds this obsession and the bag-spotting trend in magazines misleading. “I believe publications have a moral responsibility to set reasonable precedents and especially not to mislead younger audience that often looks up to these magazines for fashion-related tips and advice, says Saifullah.

“Unfortunately quite a few local magazines highlight the fact that Birkins, Kellys and Chanels are the ‘it’ bags to aspire to and ignore the reality that there are many more fashionable and reasonably priced items in the market. This is really unfortunate as it represses people from exploring their own style and fashion sense,” Zahra concludes.

Fashion, which was supposed to be all about personal style, a medium of self-expression and a portrayal of wearable art has become more of a means to show off one’s buying power. Pages that should be adorned with street-style and real fashion coverage are festooned with unfamiliar faces of socialites and their suitcase-sized Louis Vuittons.

Those who cannot afford to buy such bags often resort to buying their replicas. The obsession makes them prefer an LV duplicate priced between Rs10,000 to Rs15,000, over a bag from Maheen Hussain or Polly & Me for Rs8,000. The scramble to buy the Birkin has produced a segment in the society that feels that they must own ‘bagwati jee’ at any cost even if it means carrying a fake one.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2013.

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