Is it a bag with a speaker or a speaker with compartments to carry stuff? The jury is out when it comes to the new Balenciaga Speaker Bag. That however hasn’t stopped the leading fashion brand from putting out what appears to be a high tech fashion accessory.

To be fair, Balenciaga is one of the few fashion brands that has dared to take risks. Just this year it released a collaboration with Crocs and then there was its new collection of ‘dirty sneakers’. So, releasing something like a speaker bag, is right within Balenciaga’s wheelhouse.

Sound & Style

Revealing its new accessory at its Fall 2022 couture show, the Balenciaga Speaker Bag is exactly as advertised. It’s a stylish bag designed with the house’s signature styles, which also doubles as a Bluetooth speaker. Basically its Haute Couture meets Hi-Fidelity.

In creating its new Speaker Bag, Balenciaga sought out the expertise of luxury Danish speaker brand, Bang & Olufsen.  Crafted to resemble the iconic sculptural form of Balenciaga’s handbags, the Speaker Bag serves both as an eye-catching accessory and a powerful portable speaker.

Spec wise, it offers up to 18 hours of battery life and multipoint connectivity. And then there’s the design. Each bag is milled from a single block of solid aluminium. It is then pearl- blasted, anodized and hand-polished at Bang & Olufsen’s Factory 5 in Struer, Denmark over a period of several days to create the perfect satin finish.

A door at the rear of the speaker opens to reveal a storage compartment wrapped by hand in Balenciaga’s Italian lambskin leather. The storage area is adequate enough to stash your phone, wallet, and keys.

There’s no doubt that the Balenciaga Speaker Bag is impressive. Both the fashion house and Bang & Olufsen proudly proclaim that the fashion accessory serves as a way for people to tailor their sound with their style. In essence create a synergy between their sonic and aesthetic preferences.

From the moment it debuted, many have already proclaimed this high-tech accessory is the ‘it’ bag of the season. Although you may not agree, there’s no denying that this Speaker Bag is already the coolest thing we’ve seen out of fashion for quite a while.

(Images: Balenciaga)