SPOTLIGHT

Strike! Prada’s Bowling Bag Is Back

We don't know about you, but we typically associate bowling with velcro rental shoes, children’s birthday parties, fried foods, and gutter balls – essentially the antithesis of haute couture. Though, the right accessory could definitely elevate this popular pastime’s image.

Yes, we are referring to the Prada Bowling Bag.

Photo from Purseblog in collaboration with Prada

Inspired by the bags that bowlers carried in the ‘50s and ‘60s, the style was originally released by the Italian house in its Spring 2000 “Sincere Chic” collection. Though not large enough to fit an actual bowling ball, it was the first bag to feature a curved, semicircular silhouette, providing room for every daily essential. Due to its unique shape, Prada’s Bowling Bag was widely acclaimed, selling out as soon as it hit stores a year later. Though other brands hurried to release their own takes, the Bowler will forever be synonymous with Prada – the house that has since become famous for proving that the commonplace can be covetable and function can be fun.

Alongside eight of its other hit styles, Prada briefly reissued the Bowling Bag for the Met’s Impossible Conversations exhibition in 2012, which explored the likeness of Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada through their most innovative designs.

Elsa Schiaparelli for Harper's Bazaar, February 1935. Photo by André Durst

Miuccia Prada, Autumn/Winter 2002–3. Photo by David Sims

More recently, in celebration of the Bowling Bag’s 20th anniversary, Prada officially revived it for the Resort 2020 “Seditious Simplicity” collection. Reintroduced by none other than Kaia Gerber and Gigi Hadid, it features some very 21st century updates. While the Bowling Bag is still crafted of supple calf leather and detailed with its signature paneling, it is now available in contrast (white with black, black with white, white with red, red with white, cognac with white, and pink with white) and monochrome (cognac, black, white, and pink) colorways, as well as two sizes (small and large). Each variation is accented with the brand’s tonal logo and accompanied by an adjustable strap for crossbody wear (which is removable on the large size).

Ready to add this iconic piece to your collection? Invest in the newer release, which is available for purchase now, or save with the vintage model. Either way, the Prada Bowling Bag is a perfect strike!

Photo from Purseblog in collaboration with Prada

Written by Anna Villani
Anna Villani is a fashion writer based in Copenhagen
The people pictured are not associated with The Archive
or The Vintage Bar, and do not endorse the products shown.