Saint Laurent ambassador Zoë Kravitz was naturally first in line to bag the brand’s new maxi tote. Say hello to the Icare: a plush quilted jumbo style with, according to the label, “a fierce identity”.
To premiere the new cabas, Kravitz staged a street-style shoot to showcase the hands-free ease the Icare allows for. With one hand glued to her iPhone and the other clutching a green juice, Zoë, with her hair scraped back into a bun, looks like she could be fresh out of Pilates and en route to a casting call. The capaciousness and sleek outer of the Icare means you’d never know her leggings were scrunched up inside.
The Icare’s name refers to the bold monogram positioned in the centre of the nappa lambskin leather. Designed as a piece of high jewellery to wear over your arm, the logo “shines like the sun that burned Icarus’s wings”, according to creative director Anthony Vaccarello’s team. Toeing the line between polished and relaxed, Saint Laurent maintains the new tote will be the company’s latest collector’s piece when it launches in April – on a par with its successful Le 5 à 7 shoulder bag, which has become the chic receptacle of models’ cards and keys when on their own Forma Pilates runs.
The house-your-life-in-it holdall is a natural fit for Kravitz, a die-hard New Yorker who can’t deal with itty-bitty bags day to day. She usually has The Row’s Ascot bag in the crook of her elbow or the brand’s Bindle shopper on her shoulder, and never discriminates against mesh shoppers as long as they do the job.
So while the Icare claims to be “a daring signature for a bold attitude”, Zoë’s low-key styling means it will soon be an everyday essential for those who deal in designer bags. Think of it as being in the same family as Dior’s book tote. Or Bottega’s maxi Jodie. In other words, great company to be in.
