Roger Vivier’s Marie Antoinette-Inspired Bag Takes Couture To a New Level
Shannon Adducci
Style Director
The collections shown at Paris Couture Week typically focus on garments, which are made to order for clients during private appointments following the exclusive défilés.
But lately, accessories and jewelry have joined mix to offer a different take on artisan-made objects, using same level of craftsmanship and what the French call savoir faire (translation: know-how) involved in traditional couture processes.
Enter Roger Vivier, whose new Viv’ Choc Piéce Unique collection takes couture craftsmanship to a series of one-of-a-kind handbags, which it debuted at Paris Couture Week. Comprised of 15 entirely unique pieces, the bags showcase the artistry of Vivier’s various embroidery and textile techniques, using sequins, feathers, crystals (up to 13,000 individually hand-applied, in some cases) threadwork and the like to create the pieces.
The collection is devoted to the grandeur of Paris, and includes pieces named after the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. One bag in particular is dedicated to the queen herself, Marie Antointette.
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“Marie-Antoinette is maybe one of my favorites,” Roger Vivier creative director Gherardo Felloni told FN in an exclusive look at the bag. “[It] is a tribute to Versailles and its gilding, but above all to the historic figure who counted in history and most of all in fashion history for her taste and refinement, which are still with us today.”
The bag is made of velvet, using a couture draping technique that Felloni has utilized in previous collections, and features 500 crystal ornaments and feathers that are hand applied.
“Monsieur Vivier had always been close to Couture,” added Felloni. “Through these one-of-a-kind pieces, I wanted to pay tribute to his vision of accessories as an integral part of the silhouette.”
The Piéce Unique collection also takes inspiration from some of Vivier’s most notable footwear designs, including the 1959 Choc heel and the 1963 Virgule shoe.
And the handbag collection isn’t the first time that Felloni has played with couture ideas in his creations for the French brand. For the fall winter ’23 collection, the designer used draping techniques and Vivier’s signature embellishment techniques to create boots, bags, hats and more that explored how accessories could be worn like garments.
