Good idea for a thread, Maria!
I was thinking of posting something similar, myself.
Yes, ITA with the leather, Italian craftsmanship and QC point.
As PMA wants to strip back the hardware (and I think he may have a point, to be fair, as most of it's too heavy for me), I would like to see the soft, calf leather self-tie hobo reintroduced, like my tiger hobo:
...in a rainbow of differerent colours; some embellished/decorated and some not; this is because it is easily the lightest and most naturally and beautifully shaped bag I have ever owned, which, if not full, slouches beautifully as you carry it (to almost half its size) and forms perfectly to the body. It has absolutely no extraneous hardware (just two rounded zip-pulls (one outside, one inside) and it has a nice, long, easily adjustable strap. I always hesitate to use the word 'classic', but it really is such a tried and trusted, comfortable shape to wear, that it is as near as I would ever get to describing a bag style as classic.
I'd particularly love a plain '05 Chocolate-coloured one, ideally with Kerala charms attached through the hole of the zip-pull, via a removable clip. This hobo was a staple Chloe style, for a while (in various guises), so I don't see why it couldn't be re-introduced, as they did the Bracelet Bag? They did produce a hobo for SS '07, but it had a whopping great seam down the middle and rope handles - not ideal, IMO.
Also, I would like to see a reintroduction of the Ida clutch:
...in various, natural, colour combos and again, some plain and some embellished and with different charms. It's a great grab-clutch and as the gold beaded version sold-out very quickly on NAP in S/S '06, I think variations on the Ida style would probably be popular. Also, some other, similar, handmade, very soft, pleated (for volume), zipped-top clutches of a similar, managable size would be nice.
A reintroduction of a soft (but stiffened at the back with a plate, which makes it easy-to-hold), foldover clutch, like this one from A/W '02 - '03, would be great, too:
...again, in a rainbow of colours. It would be nice to see matching wallets, as well. They did bring out a fairly similar-looking bag for A/W '07 (the Inge), but the proportions were a bit off and it had a Marniesque-looking ball hanging from it. :s
I would also like to see a variety of attractive charms that can be clipped onto zip-pulls, or removed, if desired; perhaps with lots of little charms of the motifs of the Stella and Phoebe collections(?), like wild horses, horseshoes, bananas, monkeys, tigers, orchids, horns, bats, eagles, fossil butterflies, anchors, skulls, London buses etc. and also, some plain, hardware-free, handmade, soft leather wallets.
Jewellery-wise, I'd like to see some black lucite bangles, perhaps with the same tribute charms embedded in them? Snake bracelets would be nice, too (not exact copies of the original Phoebe one, but variations), as would charm bracelets and necklaces with similar Stella and Phoebe reference charms and/or Kerala charms, like those on the wallets.
I'd like to see more geometric shapes incorporated into bags and other accessories, too and more black mixed with colour.
Finally, I'd also like to see more reference made to earlier Chloe designers; like Karl Lagerfeld and less to other, current, designers.
