Bagging for attention

Mona

All India Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, who is facing bribery allegations, appeared before the Parliamentary Ethics Committee on Thursday. Dressed in a tomato red saree, oversized shades in place, what caught the eye was Moitra carrying three bags, including her favourite Louis Vuitton (LV).

Now, luxury bags and Moitra have a long history. There has been a viral video of a Parliamentary debate where Moitra is seen shoving off her Louis Vuitton (LV) bag out of the camera’s range in 2022. When questioned about her love for luxury bags and filing petitions in Supreme Court on X (formerly called Twitter), she cheekily replied, “Modi ji sent me some of the proceeds after auctioning his Rs 10 lakh suit. I bought a handbag and used the rest to pay fees of the lawyer.”

The bag in the viral video reportedly costs somewhere between Rs 1.6- 2 lakh. When another of her bags caught attention, she admitted it to be LV, “My dears, this is also Louis Vuitton — the Pochette. Do look it up — will save you time trying to figure it out,” she posted later.

Not the only one

Moitra isn’t the only one caught in bag lure! Bollywood beauties Jacqueline Fernandez and Nora Fatehi came under Enforcement Directorate’s lense after receiving presents from conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar. Reportedly, amongst the lavish gifts that he claimed to have sent Jacqueline were three Birkin bags.

A status symbol, Birkin bags start from $10,000 (Rs 8 lakh approx) and go up to $250,000 (Rs 20 lakh approx). The bold and beautiful Kangana Ranaut and the sultry Malaika Arora have long been spotted brandishing Birkins too.

If Bagwati (Hermès Kelly handbag) in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara remains the most famous bag in Bollywood, there is a bevy of Bollywood beauties in love with pretty, pricey pouches.

Ameesha Patel, back in the limelight with the success of Gadar 2, is also known for her love of luxury totes. On top of her shopping list, whenever Ameesha travels abroad are bags, right from Chanel to Christian Dior to Gucci. Her extensive collection reportedly boasts of 16 Birkin bags and her costliest one is in the range of Rs 60-70 lakh.

Style diva Sonam Kapoor Ahuja also owns a variety of totes, right from baby, boxy to bucket bags. She owns almost all known brands, but Gucci’s Diana handbag (roughly priced Rs 2 lakh) is reportedly one of her favourites.

Amongst the bag fanatics is also actress Jasmin Bhasin, whose video of sharing her bag stories with boyfriend Aly Goni also grabbed eyeballs. Right from impulse shopping at Palladium Mall for a blingy Gucci bag to picking up an LV at a high tea inside Taj, the Bigg Boss-fame cute couple shared their collection with much glee in the 15-minute video.

Universal appeal

“Luxury bags make your life more pleasant, make you dream, give you confidence, and show your neighbours you’re doing well,” said iconic German designer Karl Lagerfeld. Sincerely toeing the line are celebs from B-town!

Be it Alia Bhatt making heads turn with her red side-pack Chanel bag from Karl Lagerfeld’s collection priced at Rs 5 lakh or Deepika Padukone flaunting her Fendi Large Sunshine Tote pegged at Rs 2.5 lakh to global icon Priyanka Chopra carrying her Plexiglass Chanel bag worth Rs 9 lakh, the list is really long!