French footwear and accessories label Christian Louboutin is inventing its own celebrity to launch its latest handbag.

“Eloïse Mania” depicts a studded tote as paparazzi fodder, as cameras and fans chase after the extroverted bag hoping for a glimpse at its life. By personifying the bag in this manner, Christian Louboutin is able to craft a narrative about its backstory that goes beyond a product description.

Christian Louboutin was unable to comment directly before press deadline.

Star accessory
Eloïse was designed to be a “glamorous and charismatic” companion to its popular Paloma handbag.

Fittingly, the launch campaign for the style plays off its charm and chic lifestyle of Eloïse. A consumer-facing email from the brand shows a GIF of the handbag being swarmed by a series of mirrors.

On the click-through, consumers are invited to explore the handbag through a series of text and photos. At the top of the page, the brand writes, “Eloïse is an intoxicating paradox; like a great actress, she belongs at once to all eras and yet none.”

Along with an image of a crowd gathering around the handbag, snapping pictures and pressing their faces against the glass of the door to a Louboutin boutique to get a better view.

A video introduces Eloise from the perspective of a male narrator who is seemingly close to the bag, as he calls her, “My little Eloïse.” Eloïse is shown sitting in front of a microphone in a studio.

In another scene, the handbag’s Instagram account is shown on a cell phone screen. As her follower count rises, the phone overheats and shatters in a manicured hand.

As adoring fans gather around Eloïse, the narrator says, “Eloïse was born in the limelight. She loves herself, she always has, and it’s a very good thing.”

Repurposing the film for Instagram, the brand splits sections of the campaign film into separate posts. These include different narrations, giving further insight into Eloïse.

For instance, one clip shares Eloïse’s long history with mirrors, with the narrator saying that she is beautiful. Christian Louboutin has dedicated its Instagram bio link to the campaign, sending consumers to its Web site to discover more content.

Bag of the moment
Other brands have introduced intended It bags with the help of real-life It girls.

Italian fashion label Versace is inspiring lust for its Palazzo Empire bag with a sultry campaign video.

Starring in-demand models Rosie Huntington Whiteley, Bella Hadid and Stella Maxwell, the short film depicts a seduction between handbag and heroine. The manner in which each It girl interacts with the bag is meant to portray the bag’s varied strengths (see story).

Female consumers in the United States spent approximately $11.5 billion on handbags in 2015, according to a new report by The NPD Group and Stylitics.

The product category itself grew 5 percent in 2015 compared to the year prior, driven mainly by the discretionary spending power of the baby boomer generation. Handbag purchases made by millennials, ages 18- to 34-years old, however, only increased by 2 percent due to the shopping behavior the demographic exhibits, favoring a more considered buy rather than impulse or purchasing based on brand stature (see story).