Perhaps few people in Italy are familiar with Strand Book Store, one of New York City’s most famous and beloved bookstores, located near the quaint Union Square. One of the bookstore’s hallmarks are its tote bags with the highly recognizable and iconic red logo, and it is Strand’s book tote bags that are the subject of Bottega Veneta‘s latest collaboration.
Strand’s canvas tote is a classic, extremely functional and simple, it also represents a status that I would call proletarian, but with all the limitations.
The Italian fashion house has revisited this symbol of the Big Apple and the Strand by making three upscale renditions of the New York bookstore tote, using the finest leather and, of course, putting the bookstore’s logo on full display.
Bottega Veneta’s new creative director Matthieu Blazy, in addition to being a frequent visitor to Strand on his trips to New York City, to push the collaboration even further commissioned The New Yorker to produce five cartoons – the New Yorker‘s cartoons are among America’s most famous – created by illustrator and cartoonist Jeremy Nguyen, celebrating the unexpected partnership.
The three book tote from Bottega Veneta and Strand Book Store are available online at the Italian fashion house’s webstore.
