Le Cagole by Balenciaga is the it-bag of the moment

A few days ago, Balenciaga unveiled the images of the new FW22 campaign. The protagonists include Isabelle Huppert, Justin Bieber and, above all, Kim Kardashian who, portrayed inside her Calabasas home, sports a total black look and a neon green version of Le Cagole. The result? According to Highsnobiety, in the 24 hours following the release of the campaign, there was a 325% increase in searches for "Neon Green Bags". We can call it "the Kim effect", the umpteenth confirmation that everything the SKIMS founder touches, wears or owns turns to gold, into a must-have that we would all like to add to our wardrobe. Including the latest bag created by Demna Gvasalia.

Every element of this bag, which first appeared in pre-fall 2021, seems to be designed to make it the new Holy Grail of accessories. Starting with the name, "Le Cagole", a term of Provençal origin that in slang indicates a cool, extroverted girl, but a little "over the top", with a marked propensity for drama and maximalism. All adjectives fit perfectly in the early 2000s, when celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie were crazy about another Balenciaga it-bag, the City Bag. According to legend, when Nicolas Ghesquière, the creative director at the time, presented his prototype (Le Dix Motorcycle Bag) in 2001, the brand's top management turned up their noses at the idea that it was too shapeless, soft and lacking in logos to outshine its competitors on the market. In reality, each variant of that bag became a true cult, as did its original features: soft, delicate leather that became more damaged with wear and tear and had a unique look; two small handles; a removable shoulder strap; studs; fringes and a small mirror attached to the side.

Inspired by the Y2K nostalgia that is driving the aesthetic and style choices of Gen Z, Gvasalia has taken some of the features of the accessory created by Ghesquière and updated others to create Le Cagole, a half-moon shaped bag, similar to an appetizing croissant, made of soft leather and full of buckles, zips with tassels, studs, pockets and a heart-shaped mirror as a pendant. To emphasize and add to its rock chic mood, the bag is available in four sizes and a wide range of colors from lilac to classic black, from pastel blue to yellow, from white to vibrant orange. 

Little by little, Le Cagole has begun to enter the wardrobe of the hottest celebrities of the moment, reaching number six on Lyst's list of most desired items (published last October and covering the third quarter of 2021), right between JW Anderson's chain mules and the Jacquemus La maille Pralù cardigan. The more observant may have noticed that Alexa Demie was sporting a bling bling effect, while set colleague Sydney Sweeney was recently spotted shopping at the Flea Market in West Hollywood, California, wearing jeans, a white tee and a mint green Balenciaga it-bag. Bella Hadid and Chiara Ferragni have been adding it to their outfits since last summer, the former choosing classic black, while the Italian influencer a baby pink, a candy color like Leonie Hanne's favorite lilac one. The latest girls to wear it? Julia Fox attended the Kenzo show in a sort of modern Canadian tuxedo (the jacket was by Schiaparelli) and a little Le Cagole in her hands; while Dua Lipa, out and about in New York, wore it with an orange down jacket, baggy jeans and a black Yankees beanie.