Total opposite of the floral bags they are known for, Marimekko’s ‘Pikku Karla’ is the one for the Yuletide

When you go partying, and this is the season for it, you don’t carry any bag—not the Birkin, not even the Kelly. If clubbing is part of the plan for the evening, you’d want a crossbody, preferably small, and can be worn close to the body. And, perhaps, more importantly, not one you’d pick for your first dream-job interview at a bank. That perfect party bag is not easy to find. We are partial to Topologie’s ‘Bottle’ sacoche (even if it was originally designed to carry water bottles), but are now rather enamoured with Marimekko’s just-as-nifty Pikku Karla.

This is a rather an un-Marimekko bag, in that it does not sport a print, and is available in disco-ready metallics, and bi-coloured to boot. Marimekko describes the design as “a modern twist on a classic sweet”—a candy wrapper to be precise. As the Finnish brands tells it, designer Anna Werner was sketching at her desk, as designers are wont to do, when she was seized with a craving for sweets. She reached for one that happened to be laying around on her work top and picked it, but dropped the candy. And then she saw the wrapper, and the “sweet treat came to life”.

The oval bag is available in several sizes, but we find the smallest to be the handiest. But don’t let the compactness fool you. The Pukku Karla is a capacious bag and can easily fit a smartphone, a wallet, a lipstick, a small box of mints, even a portable fan, and whatever you need for a night out. It comes with a tubular shoulder strap that can be easily knotted should you prefer it to be shorter or like it as a shoulder bag that can be secured under your arm. The bag is made of leather and it is supple, but the interior is lined with recycled polyester, just the unseen detail the environmentally-conscious would feel utterly good about.

Marimekko Pukku Karla bag, from SGD239, is available at Marimekko stores. Photo: Zhao Xiangji