Amal Clooney, Fashion Icon? Ballin Names New Bag After George’s Wife
Amal Clooney became known to fashion watchers when she first stepped out as George Clooney’s bride-to-be. Now that the two have married and the former Amal Alamuddin has officially changed her last name, she seems poised to be studied as much for her style as her intellectual pursuits.
Case in point: As Clooney makes news for her legal work representing Greece in its dispute with Britain over the Elgin marbles, word comes from Ballin that it has named a handbag after her. The company’s website lists the price for the “Amal” as €970.00, or about $1,191.
The company did not create the bag after Amal became famous. On the contrary, Clooney was seen out with the bag at events such as the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in London and simply walking around her own neighborhood. It was enough for Ballin to rename the piece after her.
Glamour blogger Leah Melby notes that Ballin has two other bags with celebrity names, the Cresside and the Katniss, although it is unclear if that’s just by accident. The Cressida could refer to Cressida Bonas, Prince Harry’s former girlfriend, and Katniss could be Katniss Everdeen, Jennifer Lawrence’s character in The Hunger Games.
E! Online says the Ballin tote is typical of Amal’s style, in that its size and neutral coloring are befitting her overall looks. The bag comes in two colors — brown and black, according to the Ballin site — and offsets the lawyer’s otherwise colorful ensembles. Hannah Marriott wrote in the Guardian in September that she became entranced with the then-Alamuddin when she wore mismatched-colored shoes. Marriott went on to say that it is Amal’s professional credentials as well as her devil-may-care attitude that endears her to fashion-watchers.
On Friday, the Express published a series of new photographs from George and Amal Clooney’s September wedding. The snaps include one of the couple cutting their art-deco wedding cake and another where Amal’s mother can be seen wiping a tear from her eye. The Mirror also reported on the new pictures, and quoted from a Vogue article in which Amal gushed about her wedding dress designer, Oscar de la Renta.
“George and I wanted a wedding that was romantic and elegant, and I can’t imagine anyone more able than Oscar to capture this mood in a dress. Meeting him made the design process all the more magical, as he is so warm and such a gentleman.”
[Amal Clooney Image: Thanassis Stavrakis/AP via The Guardian]
