LONDON — Anine Bing, the Los Angeles-based contemporary label, celebrated the launch of the Kate Tote, a bag named after the face of its fall 2023 campaign — supermodel Kate Moss — with guests including Rosie Huntington-Whiteley on Wednesday night.
Speaking to WWD, Bing said Moss has been on the brand’s mood board from Day One, adding that “She is a fashion icon, and for me, she is the ultimate Anine Bing muse.”
The tote, which is available in black napa leather or patent leather and retails for 705 pounds, is designed to be “the ultimate tote for the woman on the go,” according to Bing.
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“The big bags are coming back. At least I’m bringing it back. I need a big tote for my computer, my snacks, and stuff for my two kids,” she added.
The next day, Bing went to South Kensington to admire the supersized billboard featuring Moss carrying the bag, before doing a round of store visits. Prior to coming to London, she was in Paris inaugurating the brand’s second location in Saint Germain on the Left Bank.
Bing said she has been truly inspired by how women in Paris and London dress.
“They’re just so effortlessly put together. I love how they style the pieces. I see a lot of how they wear the blazers here. It has a lot of oversize and very tonal looks and and I love it. Here, people are a little more put together and I love it. Even like myself when I come here. I feel like you just make a little bit more of an effort,” she noted.
According to Annika Meller, chief strategy officer at Anine Bing, the brand has big ambitions for the accessory category, and more styles will be added to the Kate handbag collection next year.
“With the successful launch of our Nico bag in 2021 we have been able to identify the ideal positioning of the category from a design, price and quality standpoint. We have invested in our design team and have brought in additional experts in these categories to support the growth and we will continue to push these categories from a marketing standpoint as well,” said Meller.
China is another key focus for the brand next year, while it continues to scale its overall European presence with a special focus on e-commerce. As of 2023, Anine Bing sells to over 350 points of sale worldwide and runs 23 stores in the U.S., Australia, Germany, France and the U.K.
“We launched our Tmall business about 18 months ago and we have seen tremendously strong results, which gives us confidence to continue investing in the market. We had our first-ever brand activation to celebrate the launch of our Kate Moss campaign in Shanghai in September and we’re planning to open the brand’s first retail door in China in the first quarter of 2024,” added Meller.