It’s difficult to walk down the street and not pass an advertisement. But when was the last time the advertisement itself was the very tote you were holding?

That’s the idea behind Target’s new billboard bags. The bull’s eye brand has commissioned a group of emerging artists to create ads for Times Square, which will be up Labor Day weekend through October 31. But instead of dumping the billboards come November 1, they’ll be turned into a limited edition Anna Sui-designed bag.

The purse itself is made of 90-percent recycled flex bulletin vinyl, with tough-girl touches (like black enamel studs) that are signature Sui. Although you won’t be able to get your hands on one of the 1,600 pieces until early January, the bags officially go on sale tomorrow.

Though the process sounds complicated, the idea behind it isn’t. The artists, like collage master Michael Anderson (who had a solo show at Marlborough Chelsea Gallery earlier this year) and bodega-inspired Josh Goldstein (who mimics the layers of storefront signs in his work), all take existing imagery and make it their own. That this artistic version of upcycling is turned into a fashion statement? Even better.

So log-on, then look up—you just might see your new bag hovering over a busy Manhattan street.
REBECCA WILLA DAVIS

Visit target.com/billboardbag starting September 4 for more info.

Plus info on Anna Sui's Gossip Girl-inspired collection for Target here.

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