Luxury bags from Haaland, from Norway, cost up to R$217,000

Norwegian striker Erling Haaland is used to the spotlight. Standing 1.95 meters tall and with shoulder-length blond hair, he clearly harks back to his Viking ancestry.

In addition, he is among the best football players in the world and led his country's men's team to their first FIFA World Cup appearance in almost three decades.

But a few weeks ago, fashion designer and TikTok user Jack Savoie highlighted another feature Haaland is known for: her collection of Hermès bags. "Have you seen Erling Haaland's personalized Birkin bags?" Savoie said in a video that quickly went viral. "Baby, get ready."

"Well, the first thing I have to say is that they're not all Birkins," Savoie said in a phone interview with CNN. Many of Haaland's bags are actually Haut à Courroies (HAC), the model the Birkin is based on, but with a slightly taller, narrower profile. This in no way diminishes the impact of Haaland's collection.

In the video, with more than 10 million views, Savoie spends several minutes analyzing the football star's collection. There is the special edition "Endless Road" by HAC, whose value can reach almost R$217 thousand reais, which he carried when he arrived in North Carolina before the World Cup.

The off-white bag is decorated with a patchwork of blue and gray leather that creates a mountain road landscape. There is a moss-colored canvas HAC and a black and orange checkered HAC (which costs approximately R$171,000) and he was even seen with his girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen's Birkin 25 inside his HAC 50. "He had two Birkins, it was very chic," said Savoie.

Haaland is not the only football player with a taste for Hermès: Argentine star Lionel Messi has a HAC 40 cargo bag (the model costs around R$171,000) full of pockets that he carries on his travels, and Dutch defender and fashion aficionado Virgil van Dijk has a light gray leather one. David Beckham apparently also has a small collection of plus-size bags.

Luxury bags of all types are being seen at the World Cup. The French men's team - one of the favorites to win the tournament - arrived with bags from HAC, as well as bags from Chanel and Louis Vuitton. French forward Marcus Thuram carried a vibrant green suede maxi flap bag, the result of Chanel's collaboration with Pharrell Williams, while Rayan Cherki carried an oversized Hermès Kelly Maxi.

But Haaland's enviable collection has sparked yet another round of discussions about men and the innocent bag. The juxtaposition of the masculinity of the professional athlete with the traditionally feminine symbols of the luxury handbag seems to strike a chord in mass culture.

Photos of Haaland on the runway, published on social media, were flooded with homophobic comments questioning the attacker's masculinity. "I will never understand why a grown man would want to carry a bag," wrote one Instagram user.

Others were more understanding. "So this is how I find out Haaland is a bad guy???" commented another.

"I think for a long time people were told what they could and couldn't wear, but there's a change. Now they say, 'I don't care,'" Savoie said. "If it makes me happy, I'll use it however I want." He cites the growing number of male athletes wearing luxury jewelry, like Van Cleef & Arpels, on the field, even though the specific pieces are more associated with women.

The peculiar irony of a bag like the Hermès HAC being categorized as hyper-feminine lies in the fact that it was created at the end of the 19th century as an accessory for carrying riding equipment, just like the rest of the brand's products at the time.

Hermès would only launch a bag specifically aimed at women many decades later, when it expanded its portfolio beyond leather goods. "I think there is a growing appreciation for beautiful things, regardless of gender," Savoie said. "I don't even know why these bags have gender."

Despite all the talk about her handbag choices, Haaland doesn't seem bothered at all. He scored two goals in each of his first two matches at this year's World Cup, becoming only the sixth player to achieve this feat.

Savoie said the combination of Haaland's physique and refined taste only makes her more interesting to a wider audience, regardless of critics. "It just adds another layer to your reputation," he said.

@jack.savoie ERLING HAALAND'S BIRKIN COLLECTION! #worldcup #erlinghaaland #soccer #hermesbirkin #hermes @Erling Haaland ♬ original sound - Jack Savoie

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Source: CNN