Art News

It Bag, Watch Out: France’s Duvelleroy Folding Fan is Back

PARIS (AP).- Forget Balenciaga’s “Giant City” and the other luxury purses that vie for the title of “It Bag” of the moment. If two young Parisian fashionistas have their way, next season’s must-have accessory might just be a relic resurrected from a bygone age — the folding fan. Eloise Gilles and Raphaelle de Panafieu left their jobs in fashion and invested their savings to rescue one of Paris’ last remaining fan makers, the long-dormant house of Duvelleroy. Their first collection — 12 exquisite models concocted by hand from traditional fabrics like silk and feathers and state-of-the-art materials like carbon fiber — is to make its retail debut later this month. “Fans are not only elegant and feminine but they’re also super practical. Whenever I go out, to parties, to restaurants and especially to clubs, I always have mine,” said Panafieu, a 28-year-old who says folding fans have been her