Tee off with Alexander Wang

When you think of golf, what designers do you think of? I’m guessing that your mind probably went immediately to a company like Ralph Lauren or Lacoste, both of which go out of their way to associate themselves with the leisurely sport. If you’re super preppy, maybe you even thought of Lilly Pulitzer and her bright printed shorts. The last person on your mind (other than maybe Rick Owens) was likely Alexander Wang.

And yet, fans of the brand know that on his Spring 2012 runway, Wang was inspired by a number of athletic activities, and the golf influence among his bag designs was impossible to ignore. In fact, some of his handbags looked nearly big enough to hold an actual set of clubs, with the Alexander Wang Small Golf Bag providing an alternative that can actually be carried. The question is, though, would you carry it?

I would. I don’t know that I’d spend money on it, but if one flew into my apartment through an open window, I wouldn’t throw it back out. And in case you were wondering, there are bags that I would throw back out, lest their ugliness were to infect the rest of the bags in my collection. This bag isn’t ugly, though, it’s just a bit…non-traditional.

What we have here is essentially a backpack restructured with a few of the visual cues of a golf bag, but if you hadn’t seen the original, giant runway pieces, this smaller version might not immediately scream “GOLF” to you. The construction is interesting, as is the bag’s vented body, which is a more visually impactful take on now-omnipresent perforated leather. Don’t worry, though – the bags are fully lined, so nothing you put in them will fall out. Would you rock this look? Buy through ShopBop for $985 in black and white.