[Images: Style.com]
One of the most breathtaking bag collections we've yet seen for A/W 2010 has got to be Bottega Veneta's brilliantly colourful collection, which itself evokes the changing colours of autumn. As in previous seasons, the label went for a tatty, loose-weave kind of look for many of its accessories, but these excesses were reigned in by exquisite shaping, keeping the bags shapely and neat.
The weaving on the tote bags was a joy to behold in strong, clashing colours picking up the giant-scale grain of the outerwear and straight, tailored skirts. Our favourite from the bag collection, however, had to be the striped satchel bag pictured above right, with its beautiful snake-skin contrast trim.
No Bottega show would be complete without its complement of clutches, and the familiar miniaudiere boxes with their knot-top closures were back for another season. This time around they were made from luxurious velvet ribbon and dark leather with black gemstone embellishments. There is certainly life in this style yet.