When is a bag not a bag? When it’s The Miranda. That was the sentiment last night at Opening Ceremony's launch event for Miranda July’s namesake, a collaboration with Laurel Broughton’s LA-based accessories label WELCOMECOMPANIONS. What is it, then? An art object under the guise of a bag. “I think she’s a gay man,” July said with a laugh when asked about who might typically buy The Miranda. “Perhaps a designer himself, who just likes it as an inspirational collector’s item. Quite frankly, that’s my first thought, because the truth is, it’s hard for a woman who actually spends money on bags to buy one she knows she can’t really use.”
In actuality, The Miranda bag is a fully stocked kit containing items that can help you be more like Miranda July: a separate pocket for a bottle of Calms Forté homeopathic sleeping pills, a tiny pocket for a single almond (for those emergency low blood sugar moments), bobby pins, a USB flash drive, a place for a picture of loved ones, a swatch of cloth to act as a miniature security blanket, a hidden pocket for an emergency $20 bill, and a set of multi-purpose business cards with sayings on them (e.g. “Please use a lot of lubricant” or “I can’t understand you because my cell phone has a bad connection. I’ll have to call you back.”) The messages aren't so unlike those you might recieve via July's new app, Somebody, which facilitates strange yet sincere encounters with strangers.
July was reticent at first about even making the bag, but by fully customizing it, she was able to make the object funny and a little awkward—like July herself. “I think I was a little embarrassed about having a namesake bag,” she said. “There was part me of that was like, ‘I’m going to get so mocked for this.’ And yet, I was like, ‘Screw that. I really want to do it. When is this ever going to happen again? But let me at least point to the fact that it’s kind of uncomfortable and embarrassing.’ My way of doing that is by overdoing it. Like, ‘Okay, if this is The Miranda? I’ll really make it The Miranda. Here’s me: can’t sleep worth shit right now.’”
What’s the one thing in Miranda July’s real bag that was left out of The Miranda’s arsenal of objects? You guessed it: “I don’t have my period,” she said with a laugh, “but I will.”
Handbags, in essence, are utilitarian objects, meant to carry around a woman’s most personal belongings—things she literally can’t leave home without. Which is why July invited three artists—JD Samson of the band JD Samson & MEN, art photographer Catherine Opie, and singer and actress Molly Ringwald—to display the contents of their own bags at last night's event, as a realistic nod to the cartoonish utilitarianism of The Miranda.
Samson, who also DJed the launch, normally carries a tote bag with a Sharpie, stones, crystals, and
In actuality, The Miranda bag is a fully stocked kit containing items that can help you be more like Miranda July: a separate pocket for a bottle of Calms Forté homeopathic sleeping pills, a tiny pocket for a single almond (for those emergency low blood sugar moments), bobby pins, a USB flash drive, a place for a picture of loved ones, a swatch of cloth to act as a miniature security blanket, a hidden pocket for an emergency $20 bill, and a set of multi-purpose business cards with sayings on them (e.g. “Please use a lot of lubricant” or “I can’t understand you because my cell phone has a bad connection. I’ll have to call you back.”) The messages aren't so unlike those you might recieve via July's new app, Somebody, which facilitates strange yet sincere encounters with strangers.
July was reticent at first about even making the bag, but by fully customizing it, she was able to make the object funny and a little awkward—like July herself. “I think I was a little embarrassed about having a namesake bag,” she said. “There was part me of that was like, ‘I’m going to get so mocked for this.’ And yet, I was like, ‘Screw that. I really want to do it. When is this ever going to happen again? But let me at least point to the fact that it’s kind of uncomfortable and embarrassing.’ My way of doing that is by overdoing it. Like, ‘Okay, if this is The Miranda? I’ll really make it The Miranda. Here’s me: can’t sleep worth shit right now.’”
What’s the one thing in Miranda July’s real bag that was left out of The Miranda’s arsenal of objects? You guessed it: “I don’t have my period,” she said with a laugh, “but I will.”
Handbags, in essence, are utilitarian objects, meant to carry around a woman’s most personal belongings—things she literally can’t leave home without. Which is why July invited three artists—JD Samson of the band JD Samson & MEN, art photographer Catherine Opie, and singer and actress Molly Ringwald—to display the contents of their own bags at last night's event, as a realistic nod to the cartoonish utilitarianism of The Miranda.
Samson, who also DJed the launch, normally carries a tote bag with a Sharpie, stones, crystals, and