Dreaming of an 'equestrian chic' wardrobe? Supermodel Frida Gustavsson's new It-bag has you covered

While its sleek silhouette and meticulous craftsmanship would never give it away, Get The Gallop’s most iconic and sought-out piece (the aptly named Hay Bag) is actually a reinterpretation of that ludicrously capacious blue Ikea bag we all know and love. “Us horse folks know [the Ikea bag] is the best way to carry hay, and is found plentiful in the trunk of any horse owner’s car,” model-turned-actor Frida Gustavsson says.

So, when the Swedish lifestyle label called on Gustavsson with the invitation to collaborate on her very own bag design, a similarly clever reimagining of a practical daily carryall was her starting point.

“Taking an everyday object and upscaling it in gorgeous Italian leather, thus prolonging its lifetime and increasing its wearability, inspired me,” Gustavsson explains. “I looked for other everyday objects that could be upscaled and that, in its simplest form, I thought deserved a new take. I landed on the classic shopper, aka a plastic bag,” she tells Vogue Scandinavia.

While Gustavsson has firmly cemented her place as one of the aforementioned “horse folks”, her collaboration with Get The Gallop didn’t form out of the blue. “We would run into each other at many horse-related events,” Gustavsson says, referring to encounters with Louise Hamilton and former Olympic horse jumper Lisen Bratt Fredricson, who co-founded the Stockholm-based label together in 2016.

By all accounts, the design process for Gustavsson’s shopper design was smooth sailing from the start. Meeting at Kaffe in Stockholm’s Södermalm, Gustavsson shared her initial sketches of the bag, and in Hamilton’s words: “it was love.” “We share the same kind of passion for materials, details and fit, and with Frida’s creativity, the whole process was easy and fun,” Hamilton goes on. “In every meeting, we rather quickly agreed on changes or details, then spent the rest of the time talking about the small and big things in life: rock climbing, Nepal, style, and horses of course.”

Related: Frida Gustavsson wore Vivienne Westwood to her intimate Stockholm city wedding

While the Shopper Bag takes inspiration from the classic plastic carryall, Gustavsson ensured the measurements could easily fit a laptop while also adding a key holder, a pocket for valuables and a removable shoulder strap (with a classic shark tooth pattern from horse bridles) – giving the bag versatility to move seamlessly from day to night.

“It’s not a revolutionary style by any means but that was not the intention. I wanted to create something that you feel like you somehow know, and that could easily blend into your life and stay there for a long time.” Those lucky enough to get their hands on the bag will also note a small cat charm – Gustavsson is partial to the smaller four-legged creatures too.

So what’s in Gustavvson’s Shopper Bag? “I always carry a novel, a pen and a notepad and I can happily tell you they all easily fit,” responds Gustavsson. “You can also fit your riding gloves and helmet for those summer bike rides to the stable or a laptop and all your work essentials,” she adds.

The new design bolsters Get The Gallop’s sustainability credentials as well. “Our design philosophy always involves the questions: ‘Is it easy to mend?’, does it age well in both design and quality?’, and ‘Can it be recycled?’, and the Shopper Bag is no exception. Get The Gallop is also a certified member of the organisation One Per cent for the Planet, with one per cent of annual revenue going directly to environmental causes.

The Shopper Bag by Frida Gustavsson and Get The Gallop launches Wednesday 10 May.