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After seasons of frustratingly tiny or perilously delicate bags, the big houses are placing their focus back onto practicality this season. One of the best new offerings, Prada’s Buckle is a savvy investment for anyone who places equal value on form and function. First seen on the SS24 runway, it features a classic square silhouette that will never date, and a slender belt that snakes around the open top for that obligatory dose of Miuccia wit.
From the AW24 runway, Dior’s beloved Book Tote has been reshaped in a slender new guise. The East West Dioriviera is fully embroidered with the new Toile de Jouy Soleil pattern, and perfectly sized for everyday essentials: think phone, keys, make-up bag.
Meet the Kalimero Città: a new Bottega Veneta icon that builds on the phenominal success of the puffy, padded Cassette. Exemplifying the brand’s focus on traditional artisanal techniques, this boxy silhouette features a tactile new take on the iconic Intrecciato weave, and a chunky braided handle that can be held in-hand or swung from a shoulder.
One of the most recognised luxury calling cards, Saint Laurent’s cursive metal logo features on every major bag release. Named after its creator, the graphic designer Cassandre, it takes centre stage in the new Calypso: a sleek crossbody style that carries the brand’s coveted brand of retro glamour perfectly.
Perhaps the most recognised designer bag on the planet, Chanel’s incomparable 2.55 likely needs little introduction. Named after the date of its creation (February 1955), Gabrielle Chanel’s revolutionary design changed the way women approached fashion, introducing ease and practicality into what was often a stifling and impractical way of dressing. The 2.55 was the first designer bag to feature long shoulder straps, meaning women’s hands were freed up – at no cost to elegance.
The original Wanda bag was created in 1988 as a tribute to Salvatore Ferragamo’s wife. Now, creative director Maximilian Davis has given the silhouette a new lease of life, reinventing the top-handle design with sharper hardware and a stronger structure. Black is, of course, the classic choice, but we’re currently distracted by this invigorating neon yellow.
As classic as it is covetable, Celine’s Victoire is a flawless designer investment. Launched in 2023, it’s designed to be used by both day and night, sized for the essentials and elevated with just enough gold hardware. The inimitable Triomphe logo is placed front and centre, while the chain straps will bring a glamorous edge to any look, be it a T-shirt and jeans or androgynous tailoring.
As a decade of paparazzi photos proves, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have an eye for a perfect bag. Now, it’s their own discreet design being thrust onto the most well-curated wishlists worldwide: the Margaux is The Row’s logo-less hero bag, designed for the working woman and adopted by some of most well-dressed names in Hollywood, from Jennifer Lawrence to Zoë Kravitz.
Short, squat and sublimely sculptural, this sausage dog of a shoulder bag is shaping up to be one of 2024’s most in-demand pieces. Inspired by the late designer’s love of dogs, the Teckel is crafted to a long rectangular silhouette and topped with cursive handles for a silhouette that makes a statement without the need for outré embellishment.
In case you missed the memo, we’re gearing up for a major boho revival this summer – and of course, Chloé is the house leading the charge. Newly bedded-in creative director Chemena Kamali has returned the house to its ultra-feminine, folk-filtered identity, and the Camera bag is a perfect way to indulge. Delightfully practical (count the pockets) and made from grained leather that’ll only look better with age, it’s the ultimate investment for anyone with a bohemian proclivity.
Miu Miu’s Matelassé pleated leather is back in a big way this season. First used in the brand’s bag collection back in 2006, the artisanal process transcends seasons, bringing touchable, textural impact to cross-body bags and neat top-handle styles. The Arcadie, with its satisfyingly squidgy structure and swingable size, is top of our wish list for SS24.
Louis Vuitton’s joyfully capacious Neverfull is iconic in its own right, but this new iteration, created in collaboration with Chinese artist Sun Yitan, is sure to become a collector’s item in its own right. The immediately recognisable monogrammed exterior is updated with a supple leather patch of Tiyan’s Pepto Bismol-pink bunny rabbit.
In such economically turbulent times, the big fashion houses are banking on the heft of their heritage, bringing timeless styles out of the archive and giving them a new-season spin. One of the most successful, Sabato De Sarno’s reimagining of Gucci’s Jackie bag – first launched in 1961 and named after its biggest fan, Jackie Kennedy Onassis – is crafted in rich, glossed leather in the new house hue, Rosso Ancora red. The oxblood hue is inspired by the rich interior of the Savoy Hotel’s elevator, where Guccio Gucci himself once worked as a luggage porter.
A Nineties icon, the Fendi baguette has remained firmly on fashion’s radar for over 25 years. Worn by everyone from Carrie Bradshaw to Kim Kardashian, this slender shoulder style has been reinvented in a thousand guises. Whether you order yours doused in glitter, embroidered with sequins, soaked in logos or heavy with hardware, it’ll be an investment you treasure forever.
True to the late designer’s red-blooded vision, Alexander McQueen’s sculptural leather tote is crafted to a clean-lined silhouette and topped with a signature knuckle-duster handle. Should you wish to carry it in a less-threatening way, however, the shoulder strap is adjustable and designed to be slipped neatly over one shoulder.
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