A Bollywood-favoured Goyard tote makes its presence felt on The White Lotus

A Goyard needs no publicity; in fact, the 168-year-old French trunk and leather maker is notorious for flying under the radar and for its refusal to pander to the virtual market space. So, pop culture got a bit of a shock when Alexandria Daddario’s green Goyard St. Louis tote bag got so much screen time on the hottest show of the season The White Lotus. Daddario plays a struggling journalist (who married into considerable wealth) on her honeymoon and carries her calfskin Goyard everywhere from the pool to the bar.

This particularly coveted handbag has been one of the most redeeming luxury statements for the famous and the moneyed, especially since it’s quite a chore getting one’s hands on a Goyard. The brand almost works towards keeping certain models out-of-reach even in this age of hyper commercialisation. This is probably why everyone from Meghan Markle to Kardashians and Gauri Khan wants to be seen with one. The label’s heritage appeal and unchanging stance on self-promotion certainly work in its favour but hasn’t really removed the brand from modernity in design language.

The St. Louis tote is one of the three most iconic totes made by Goyard; it is a lightweight, reversible everyday companion made with Goyardine canvas and Chevroches calfskin, accented with linen and cotton weaves. “For the 2020 edition, the Maison draws its sources and inspirations once again from the Goyard family history with the Rouette Design, whose name refers to a supple branch of hornbeam used by the Compagnons de Rivière, raftsmen of old whose trade consisted in transporting enormous amounts of firewood downriver from the forests of Morvan to Paris, which depended on them for its hearths and ovens,” Goyard writes about this shade of the St. Louis tote.

The White Lotus costume designer Alex Bovaird recently talked about why she wanted Daddario’s character Rachel to be seen with one of the oldest Goyard totes. “I wanted her wardrobe to tell a story of someone who is trying to fit in the monied and status-obsessed world she married into, but also reflect that maybe she is kind of cool, like she used to live in the East Village. I mean, I know a girl just like this: She married a finance guy, but is an assistant costume designer. She’d mix the Hamptons look with “I’m a costume designer.” I felt like the purse was something Shane gave to Rachel because that’s what his friends told him to do.