Simone Handbag Museum

Equivalent is true of the newly exposed Simone Handbag Museum on Garosugil in Gangnam. It might take a tremendously safe guy, for example, to-be caught lifeless entering a museum with this title over its entrance.

However, the self-proclaimed world’s first official bag museum, that has been previewed into the nyc days and many a fashion magazine around the world, is truly an ideal convention with an increase of of historic contextual emphasis, instead a gaudy screen of excessive luxury.

Context and idea

The creation of Kenny Park, 57, the CEO of Simone Acc. Range Ltd., a Korea-based supplier of handbags for labels including Marc Jacobs, Kate Spade and Tory Burch, the museum houses significantly more than 300 European pieces with its permanent collection over two floors and reserves the top flooring for special events.

Built over 3 years, the building it self are priced at US$3.53 million while another US$1.59 million ended up being allocated to securing pieces when it comes to collection.

The third floor - where museum begins - is an extremely modern show of avant-garde installations intermixed with iconic handbags.

The 4th floor is a history example, featuring British “reticules” from the 1820s, to “miser’s purses” and European women’s very first “work bags” that simply take a determined change for unsightly while they are more utilitarian, in the place of attractive.

Big on details

the latest Simone Handbag Museum could be the brainchild of Kenny Park, 57, the CEO of a Korea-based organization that designs, develops and distributes bags.
The captions tend to be a pleasure to read. Here’s an example:

“Sweetmeat Purse, English, c1590, silk and steel damask, material braid, silk cable and floss.

In The united kingdomt presents got on New Year’s Day on reigning monarch. This custom provided the ability for courtiers to ingratiate on their own with the royal family also it had not been unusual for a gifted bag to consist of huge amounts of cash. Many highly worked and high-priced sweetmeat purses show up on present listings compiled during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign.”

The permanent collection had been assembled by Judith Clark, a London-based experimental exhibition maker, just who caused dealers and curators in building the museum and publishing a novel from Yale University Press in honor of the museum’s orifice final month.

Each mannequin is an avant-garde work that took a team of 30 professionals and developers generate, from wigs into clothing toward placement associated with the arms and hands.

Going commercial

The cellar while the very first and 2nd floors household a café, a museum present store, a multi-brand shop and Simone’s own bag shop, and a DIY shop where consumers can decide to try their hand at making their own bags, and a huge fabric search for those who need to get initial materials, including genuine alligator swatches priced around ₩1, 250, 000 (US$1, 100).

Although this museum houses just European pieces, Simone plans to develop another museum for Asian bags in the future.

Nice surprise

“We’ve discovered that individuals are really astonished by everything if they come right here, ” claims assistant curator Jina Koh. “They might have these stereotypes to arrive, however they start viewing the bags as works of art, or historic artifacts.”

“Many of the visitors spend hours reading the captions, many also write-down almost all their concerns after which come and ask us by the end, ” claims head curator Dawn Chung. “Even the men.”

It’ll probably be tough to get a man to darken the doors. “It’s just natural that guys usually keep away from such a feminine topic, ” laughs Chung.

As one of our male associates place it: “It’s absurd that a bag museum is present originally. I’m never ever taking my gf there. She’ll only have some ideas.”

Simone Handbag Museum, 17 Dosan-Daero 13 Gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea (서울시 강남구 도산대로 13길 17); +82 2 3444 0912; www.simonehandbagmuseum.co.kr