Elite Traveler Summer 2021

etr li at ve eler SUMMER 2021 105

Chloé Fredy bottle bag, $720, chloe.com

A.W.A.K.E. MODE Femke quilted mini bag, $1,231, farfetch.com

BOTTLED UP Handbags, sunglasses and scarves. All the usual accessories you have come to expect from a luxury fashion house, no? But as technology has moved along, and our habits have changed, so too has the designer accessories offering. Just as card cases became popular as the use of cash started to become more and more obsolete in the 1990s, so too did mobile phone carriers. Even designer AirPod cases and leather hand sanitizer holders have graced catwalks. The latest accessory du jour? Hydration. Fendi, Marine Serre and Givenchy are among an increasing handful of designers who sent water bottles down the runways last fall, and the season’s most novel — read: practical — accessory showed no sign of slowing down for spring/ summer 2021. A stylish water bottle and accompanying carrying case is the latest in a string of fit-for-purpose accessories; everyone from Burberry and Balenciaga, Acne Studios and A.W.A.K.E. MODE has designed crossbody slings with the sole purpose of toting around your H2O.

Marine Serre water bottle and shoulder bag, $670, mytheresa.com

Connolly white leather duffle bag, $1,809, connollyengland.com

Louis Vuitton leather Coussin bag, $3,550, louisvuitton.com

Nanushka Anja shoulder bag, $422, farfetch.com

LAID-BACK Just as the rest of normal life changed over the last year, so too have spending habits and style, and it seems like designers have caught on. Gone are the stiff, structured sidekicks for spring/summer 2021. Instead, brands have ushered in an era of laid-back luxe in response to life in a global pandemic, ringing in a plethora of cool, slouched accessories. Don’t worry though: The quality craftsmanship we know and love from these luxury houses transcends structure, and these new styles are every bit a piece of artistry as their predecessors. Take the Louis Vuitton Coussin, for example: Nicolas Ghesquière’s latest hero bag for the spring/summer 2021 collection. The monogrammed piece follows the French designer’s ethos for combining heritage design with reimagined style, and has already garnered attention in the celebrity sphere: from Louis Vuitton ambassadors Sophie Turner and Jennifer Connelly, seen clutching the pillowy soft bag in the spring/ summer 2021 campaign, to models Carolyn Murphy and Miranda Kerr. Elsewhere, Bottega Veneta’s Pouch bag remains one of the brand’s most popular styles, while Brunello Cucinelli’s soft tote bag in luscious cream will hold everything you need for reemerging post-lockdown (hand sanitizer and all).

Loewe Flamenco clutch in nappa calfskin, $2,250, loewe.com