Bag Whore: Core Values + The Louis Vuitton Alto Bag

Set in Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, saturated in greens and rich with olives, a wistful, barefoot Angelina Jolie sits afloat a wooden boat overlooking the lakeside landscape. Pale skin and dark locks set against such vivid a scenery—so perfectly wild it looks, ironically enough, less real and more like a painting—is striking as it is. But it’s Angelina Jolie. Undone, je ne sais quoi, serene but solemn, toting her (out-of-production!!) Alta bag.

Angelina Jolie for Louis Vuitton. Two names said in the same sentence only evoke the most glamorous of editorials in my mind: rich reds, forties hair, a matte red lip, caressing a bag from Louis Vuitton’s Art Deco collection. And yet this shot was the product of the collaboration: a campaign in the complete opposite direction in aesthetic and message.

Shot by Annie Leibovitz where Jolie’s humanitarian activism was first sparked after filming in Cambodia for “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” (2000), the “Core Values” ad is to appear in the International Tribune tomorrow (Wednesday, June 15). For these series the designer house (designer with a capital “D,” no less) will abandon ideals of glamour for its heritage: emphasizing travel, personal journeys and craftsmanship.

I appreciate that it’s not fashion-forward, but classic in terms of style—matte nude lips with a smoky eye, slouchy jersey tee, olive trousers, a timeless tote. Yes, Louis Vuitton is a luxury, but it forgoes its usual portrayal as an unattainable lifestyle. Instead, this focus on its signature monogrammed leather goods, designed with quality and travel use in mind, are featured in a truer light. Louis Vuitton isn’t just for the fashion-forward, but is instead for the everyday individual, the one with duties and personal journeys. It’s ideal and romantic in that sense; the Louis Vuitton leather bag is a totem of our journey, aging gracefully alongside ourselves, lasting through better and worse.

Does it sound a bit melodramatic for a material good? Admittedly so. And yet I cannot help but nod nonchalantly with the idea. It is, after all, why I love a good handbag. I believe in investing for craftsmanship, quality and unique design. I believe in the dreams and lifestyles that come with buying that perfect handbag, as well as the air that comes with carrying it about. I believe in its iconic symbolism as a sign of women’s independence. And most importantly, I believe in disguising rat-packing tendencies with a beautiful bag.

Kidding, but not.

And so, in the grand scheme of things, I came away with two things from this campaign. No, three things:

1. Core values are of utmost importance; without them you are nothing, and to have lost sight of them in the grandeur of life as it progresses will only leave you empty.
2. Jolie’s Alto carryall (her own), at least six years young and weathered elegantly, is no longer in production. I am sad. That bag is beautiful.
3. Je ne sais quoi is, in essence, last night’s makeup, matte nude lips and anything comfortable. The very essence that makes it so beautiful is that bag. The beautiful, aged, designer bag. It’s all in the bag, mes cheries.

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{image & source via}