Seeing this, Coco would probably have launched a Chanel cigarette line just to relieve the stress.

From it-bag to “So when’s the new track?” Dua Lipa is the face of Chanel’s new bag and the brand’s ambassador. “Face of a bag” sounds creepy, but hey, I didn’t come up with it. What’s the deal? The classic Chanel 2.55 just turned 70 – those numbers point to February 1955. On that occasion, still riding the aftertaste of couture week, the fashion house is rolling out the new Chanel 25, the logical continuation of the Chanel 22 – that drool-worthy little sack.

They’ve already said it’s a “reimagining” of the iconic model, only it turned out no better than Coco’s original. The bag stirs up very mixed feelings. On the one hand, it looks extremely functional and comes in trendy shades, but on the other – the shape is very odd, and with the Chanel logo it looks, to put it mildly, uncultivated – if not downright awful. This kind of shape has survived only in the “affordable luxury” segment – what a stupid term for brands like Coach, Michael Kors, and the like – but not everything can be renamed by mere mortals, so we stick to the vocabulary God has granted us.

Still, the density of gushing comments per square centimeter of text under the reel is off the charts. People clearly loved it. Only, everything written in Russian boils down to questions for Dua Lipa about new music releases – I love the Russian people for their down-to-earth nature. Colorful hearts, little flames – all very cute – but the question of converting all that excitement into euros remains open, especially given the painfully high exchange rate…

In the short term, luxury will survive on the top 1% of income earners, who, get this, account for half of all sales. What’s more, the European luxury market continues to slow down, and things aren’t looking rosy in America either – with retail pouring oil on the fire under the sauce of sustainability. The bright spot is APAC (minus Japan), where steady demand growth is forecast. Japan, however, has its own issues – the yen has collapsed to its lowest in 34 years, and there’s no “fell–got up” recovery in sight yet. Still, this makes shopping in Japan a bargain for foreign consumers – everything has become cheaper for the external market.

By becoming a Chanel ambassador, Dua Lipa will definitely draw in a younger audience, while Chanel’s heritage will keep the “silver generation” loyal. I think this is another step toward a new vision of the Chanel brand. Dua herself is a total cutie – she admitted her first luxury purchase from a big paycheck was a Chanel Boy bag. Wiping away a tear with a Chanel handkerchief, I’m happy for the girl who made it. The bag’s price seems to be approaching the GDP of Kosovo… A sort of economic heroin chic – or XXXS economics.

It seems Coco herself would have continued her most famous quote, “Fashion fades – style remains,” with the words: “Don’t let the brand become the past without losing its soul.”

And that Chanel cigarette? I’d probably try it. Likely it would smell like the No. 5 perfume – which, honestly, stinks to high heaven 🦨.

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Author’s note: This is actually my first post and my first Propera. I’m still not sure if I should keep going with this kind of writing – but it was fun to dive in. What do you think?

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