Jacquemus’ micro bag fashion phenomenon
When, in 2018, Simon Jacquemus presented his Le Chiquito mini bags at his fashion show in Paris, no one could have imagined it would be the day micro bags would become more popular and desirable than ever. Later, a post of four micro bags on the palm of his hand got thousands of reposts on social media, was made into endless memes, and made Jacquemus’ bags viral all over the World.
Mind you, the micro bag trend is not new. Well-known designers presented their mini bag versions decades earlier. The legendary Louis Vuitton mini Papillon bag, which has a cylindrical shape like a pencil case, or the Bottega Veneta knot clutch, for carrying in your hand, were presented in 1966 and 2001 respectively but weren’t as in demand as Jacquemus mini bags are today.
Influencers on Instagram and TikTok have played the biggest role in making mini bags popular. Leonie Hanne, a German with more than 4m followers on Instagram, and Patricia Bright, a British influencer with 2.8m followers on YouTube and 1.2m on Instagram, both of whom count as fashion influencers, created lots of video reels and pictures with micro bags on their feeds. They thereby kicked off the trend of their followers creating their own reels and pictures with mini bags on their accounts too. You know how it works on social media, you get fashion, style or beauty ideas from famous influencers and create your version of wearing it. When you see everyone else doing it, it answers any questions or confusion you have about what the garment is and how to wear it.
Noticing this, Balenciaga has created a mini version of the popular City Bag, Dior now sells their Lady Dior in mini sizes and other brands have presented their mini versions too. Is it worth buying and investing in? It seems that micro bags are already less popular and were designed to attract the younger generation and capture them as future customers, which is really smart and convenient for both parties.
So was this a smart marketing trick or a successful coincidence? We don’t know. But we do know that Jacquemus made micro and mini bags extremely popular. Moreover, owning a designer bag in a mini version is much easier financially for younger generations who might be new brand clients than buying one that’s normal size.
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