Created for women, by women: Handbags between workwear and fashion

Handbags have been an integral part of women's wardrobes since forever, but it was only during the 20th century that their purpose and therefore styles changed drastically.

Up until the 1930, handbags were mostly the size of an envelope - flat designs with small handles, designed to hold nothing more than a few coins, cigarettes and a single lipstick. The first noticeable change for handbags happened in the 40s: As the war was over, scarcity and pragmatism resulted in women’s bags taking inspiration from satchels and rucksacks, which were previously reserved to men. Then, with the economic recovery, the trends for handbags swung in an opposite direction, like a pendulum: Luxury, playfulness and glamour was the motto of the 50s and 60s - but alas the measurements of bags remained small.

With the free spirit of the 70s, bags became softer, their shapes as malleable and fluid as some wished society to be at this point in time. It was in the 80s, during which women first entered the workforce in larger numbers than ever before. With this, there came power dressing - prominent shapes, sharp lines and controlled volume, allowing women to physically and metaphorically take up space in male-dominated professional fields. Bags with larger capacities than just essentials were needed - paperwork, pencil cases, devices and work supplies had to fit. During the millennial turn, bags became softer and bigger, rising to fame with the maxi bag trend in the 2010s and then diluting into its normcore interpretation: The cotton tote bag, that is not to be missed in today's cityscapes.

But while the purpose, styles and shapes of the women’s bags underwent tremendous change, one category fell short of attention: The one worn to work. Postmarked as not quite fashion, nor quite the function piece, the work bag collected dust as it was sidelined by creative designers and technical product developers, leaving women with halfhearted options that required compromise.

To this day, there lies a gap between a bag suitable for work attire (and work supplies) and a high-end fashion accessory. Items that combine the luxury of a handbag with the functionality of a work bag are a rare find - especially if the design is desired to be on the more feminine side, while remaining practical on the same level as work accessories meant for men.

Some might say, an accessory should not reflect women’s emancipation into the working world, that it reduces their efforts and achievements to a stereotypical object and diminishes what they are capable of into a sartorial pleasantry. But there is another take, one that tells a story of invention and improvement, of equity and eye levels - in which women become virtuosos of multifacetedness, embracing what makes them different and seeing it as an asset. And with this perspective, handbags become an allegory of giving way to creativity, entrepreneur- and craftsmanship, both on the level of the designers and developers and the women who end up wearing these pieces - made by women for women.

Not to mention, that for some women their first high-quality handbag is a sign of working their way up - professionally or personally - freeing themselves from patriarchal structures.

KAAI handbags come into play: A paragon of ‘fashion meets function’

Who could better come up with an impeccable design that stipulates the fashion with the function of handbags than the very women who are looking for it? Antwerp accessory brand KAAI has set out to bring the myth to life - after gathering in-depth insights from women and their relationships with their handbags, the founders Ine Verhaert and Helga Meersmans come to two conclusions: Fashionable bags, as pleasing as they might look are often impractical. At the same time, women are bored with the neutral appearance of work bags (which are still mostly designed to please the expectations of men).

Besides, Ine and Helga, both women with a past of corporate careers, took inspiration from their own personal struggles of finding stylish business bags that complemented their active lifestyles. Resulting from this, KAAI has created a collection of handbags, each of them “functional and fashionable, feminine and fearless”. KAAI bags cater for women living past-paced, successful lives, bringing forward style that is contemporary and covetable, made for casual and formal occasions, no matter if it’s day or night.

“We need time and space to create things with quality. If an object doesn’t get time to mature, it just becomes an echo of something we saw before.” With this mantra in mind, KAAI has come up with an analytical and strategic approach to create handbags with compartments such as key hooks and wallets attached with a string, buttoned flaps to secure laptops, adjustable straps and full-closure zips.

Since the foundation in 2019, KAAI has continuously grown, with clients from London, to Paris, Milan, Tokio, Singapore and Sydney. By now, the KAAI bags empower women to follow their ambitions - on their terms and without compromise - all over the world. And, to close the loop: Ine and Helga reveal that often enough, the decision for a KAAI bag is a mother-daughter moment, in which the different generations unite on the path of emancipation (or at least a branch of it): Mothers gifting their daughters a bag to kick off their career in style, continuing their mother’s footsteps that paved the way for them, and walking further for the generations to come.