Marc Jacobs moved his show from its customary spot

　　

　　Marc Jacobs moved his show from its customary spot in the middle of New York Fashion Week to the very end because of the work days lost thanks to Hurricane Irene, which just made the presentation, always among the most highly anticipated of New York Fashion Week, all the more a special occasion. For some reason, though, the bags in particular left me feeling cold. Maybe it was the fact that Thursday marked my 12th day in a row of 16- to 18-hour workdays, or that the dizzying pace of fashion week means that nothing that comes at the end ever seems as great as it should, or maybe it’s just that some of Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2012 handbags look a lot like a Coach bag I had in 2004. Maybe it’s all of the above?

　　Even while watching the blurry livestream of the show late on Thursday, I mentioned to Megs that the bucket bags in particular reminded me of Coach, and she agreed. And that’s fine; those bags are actually pretty cute in their technicolor calf hair combinations. The problem, of course, is that based on Moda Operandi’s pre-order pricing, these bags will cost in excess of $2900. That’s not great when you consider that they remind me so strongly of a design that cost less than $500, but there are still a few cute bags in the group. Judge for yourself, after the jump.

　　Proenza Schouler’s runway bags have always been a horse of a different color. While designs like the PS1 and PS11 are act as aesthetic pillar’s of the brand’s identity no matter the season, the bags that show up on Proenza’s runway are meant to be accents to a particular collection’s visual mood. They often have limited functional or retail potential, but they tell you a lot about where Jack and Lazaro’s heads were when creating the entire collection.

　　That was all true for Proenza Schouler Spring 2012 Handbags, but to a lesser extent, which I don’t think is just a happy accident. Bringing seasonal runway accessories a bit more in line with consumer expectations will a long way toward continuing the booming growth that Proenza has experienced, and the collection’s cute structured canteen bags and boxy satchels could go a long way toward bringing the runway ideal and the retail reality into harmony. As with every Proenza Schouler collection, there’s a lot to be excited about here.