Fashionable bags for men are taking off. In previous decades, male bags have largely consisted of briefcases and computer cases, with a few continental Europeans carrying travel pouches for their wallets and passports. Traditionally, almost all of these bags were made of leather and often in black or brown.
In recent years, however, men have been seeing a wider range of bags available to them, in various styles and colours. In addition to the ubiquitous sports knapsacks and backpacks, boldly-coloured bags of various types are becoming popular for men in Europe as well as fashion-conscious Japan, among other Asian countries.
'Bags are becoming as important for men as they are for women,' said Perrine Ardouin, senior event manager of APLF, which is organising Fashion Access, the leather, fashion and accessories fair held twice a year in March and October.
'They are a very strong trend in Japan. It's not sufficient to have a simple computer bag. Men want something with logos and colour. They are catching up and it is a real growth area.' Such is the growing popularity of bags for men that 'The Malebag' is one of the categories in the annual Design-A-Bag competition held by Fashion Access for design students and designers, who compete in separate divisions. Other competition categories include 'Fit', which involves designing sports bags, 'Dream Teens' and 'Party'. Both students and designers worldwide have been e-mailing their designs to Fashion Access, and the eight winners will be announced in March 2009.
The 'Dream Teens' and 'Party' categories in particular enjoy a larger number of entries because 'kids are very fashion conscious, they are very aware of trends', Ms Ardouin said. And an increasing number of designers and manufacturers are now targeting the younger market.