There’s no point in denying it, this Fashion Week season has been all about Balenciaga.

Even before the autumn/winter 2016 show took place on Sunday, March 6, the air of anticipation for newly-crowned Creative Director Demna Gvasalia’s (also head designer and co-founder of cult brand Vetements) first collection was palpable. 

Then, when we did finally see his debut efforts, there was an audible sigh of relief from the fashion pack. He had done it, and he had done it brilliantly.

As ELLE’s Fashion Director Anne-Marie Curtis put it, he took ‘the DNA of Balenciaga and seamlessly [married] it with his vision for Vetements.’

Puffer jackets and Outdoor Ed-grade anoraks are suddenly the top of everybody’s wish list. Now that’s impressive.

But it’s not just Gvasalia’s practical outerwear that’s been getting everyone excited. The bags have too - even though you can't actually buy them yet.

The large striped leather totes carried by some of the models in the show appear to be inspired by plastic rainbow-striped shopping bags popularly used and sold in markets in Thailand, often called 'Sampeng bags' after the Bangkok market of the same name.

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The fact hasn't passed the people of Thailand by, and scores have taken to Instagram to show off their 'original' Balenciaga bags, as we found while cruising the #balenciaga hashtag earlier today.

That's a sure-fire sign of a hit bag if ever we've seen one.

Balenciaga's luxurious reappropriation of an old faithful is nothing new though.

In 2013, Phoebe Philo made traditional blue-and-red checked laundry bags cool when she included the familiar print in Celine's autumn/winter 2013 collection, while Raf Simons made the humble plastic supermarket bag a must-have when he reimagined it for Jil Sander in 2010.

CATWALK IMAGES: GETTY / IMAXTREE