Longchamp bag, Kate Middleton’s favorite, becomes fashionable among SP students

All it takes is a stroll around the colleges to see: university students in São Paulo are filling the classrooms with bags from the French brand Longchamp. They are the same tote-style bags that Kate Middleton appeared wearing in the early 2010s and which, even today, are desired items. The classic model became a rage on social media.

On TikTok, the video showing girls using the same bag, in different sizes and colors, went viral with a pun: “The bag that the government distributed.” Another, made by a student at a private university in the south of São Paulo, reached more than 1 million views showing 25 girls wearing the same accessory. “I think this bag was on an ESPM mandatory material list and I didn’t know,” says the caption. The model in question is the Le Pliage, launched in 1993.

The brand was founded in 1948 by businessman Philippe Cassegrain who decided to expand his family business from tobacco and tobacco to the handbag sector. The brand is not part of any business conglomerate and remains in the hands of the same family, creating new models — without giving up the classic that never goes out of style.

Lorenzo Merlino, stylist and trends teacher at Faap, says that the brand is an “outsider” among European brands and that it gained credibility precisely for making bags with cheap but quality material.

“Longchamp was one of the first brands, even before Prada, to use nylon in bags”, he says. The foldable model, which takes up little space, was initially designed for Parisians living in cramped apartments, “but it is also perfect for people from anywhere in the world”, in Merlino’s opinion.

Perhaps the “practical” and “cheap” status is not so attractive to fashionistas, unconcerned with these characteristics. Even so, real women still consider it an item of luxury and desire, according to Lilian Pacce, journalist and fashion curator, author from the book “The Biquíni Made in Brazil”.

“Longchamp manages to position itself in a luxury market that is not Hermès or Louis Vuitton. But it is luxury, with a more reasonable price”, says Lilian. “It creates a desire among young people, while maintaining this status as a cool and accessible French brand,” she adds.

Lilian also explains why this model, specifically, became popular with women three decades ago, and remains in demand: “The brand has had the ability to always renew this model, which is a classic. It has become a collector’s item, it has this classic status”.

The journalist also says that she sees the trend on social media as positive: “This could be the best thing these young tiktokers can learn. There are classics that pass through all generations. Something good, useful and beautiful will always be desired.”

Longchamp had four stores in Brazil, based in shopping malls in the capital of São Paulo, from 2008 to 2017, when they all closed amid the financial and political crisis in the country. For Merlino, the failure occurred because the Brazilian consumer would not have the same consumption pattern as the European consumer, who needs small objects for their small spaces.

Lilian says that the fact that the brand closed could be related to an issue in the Brazilian economy, a complex policy, which had no growth prospects at the moment. The fact is that the bag continues to appear in the arms of young and adult Brazilians, who need to buy it through imports or through resellers.

WHERE TO BUY

The brand has more than 250 stores around the world. On the official website, the classic Le Pliage model is for sale in medium and large sizes, which cost US$140 and US$155 (around R$700 and R$775). At Farfetch Brasil, one of the brand’s main resellers in the country, the price goes from R$1254 to R$1360. Models with different materials increase in value.

It is no surprise that replicas are multiplying in world trade. On social media, the most popular “dupes” (as imitations are called among users) sold online are from the Asian Shopee (R$158) and the Brazilian Renner (R$179).