Gucci is bringing back a beloved accessory from the brand’s past. Princess Diana’s favorite bamboo handle tote has been reinvented by Alessandro Michele approximately 20 years after the original was constantly seen on the royal’s arm.
Often associated with her style of the early ’90s, when the paparazzi caught her leaving Chelsea’s Harbour Gym wearing collegiate sweaters and cycling shorts, the bag came to suggest her personal freedom. When Lady Di distanced herself from the royal family, she became bolder with her fashion choices. Though, as her stylist Anna Harvey once said, she always dispensed with the formality around royal dress codes.
Michele’s design of the bag is built on this idea of fluidity. It’s identifiable from the original by the neon leather belts fastened around the bamboo handles – a nod to the functional bands that kept the integrity of the ’90s wooden handles – , and the new high-vis straps come in interchangeable fluoro alternatives. Customizing is available too on the inside of the belts with letters and star symbols.
The bag is available in three sizes and seven colors. The timeless cuir is a close color to Diana’s own bag. Worn by a model carrying a pet rabbit on the runway, the Gucci Diana represents the cycle of reinvention and being free to be who you are – something Lady Di would certainly support.
Prepare for this bag to be seen everywhere as it launches today, July 6.
