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The Gucci Bamboo Bag
Gucci found itself in a quandary during World War II. Traditional handbag supplies were scarce, so the company turned to, among other things, bamboo for its accessories finishes. The look quickly took off and has since been carried by everyone from Elizabeth Taylor to Princess Diana. Two years ago, Gucci let us visit its atelier to see how the iconic hardware is made. -
The Hermès Kelly Bag
Versions of the Kelly have been around since the 1800s (it used to be intended to carry a saddle), but it didn’t gain its name until Grace Kelly used the bag to shield a pregnancy from photographers in a now-iconic image. According to Hollywood lore, Kelly fell in love with the bag after legendary costume designer Edith Head chose one for Kelly’s character in the Alfred Hitchcock classic, To Catch a Thief. -
The Chanel 2.55 Flap Bag
Coco Chanel created the first version of her now-iconic shoulder bag in the 1920s, but it was during her postwar comeback that she altered the details of the bag to make the design we know today. As Chanel fanatics know, the “2.55” moniker is a shorthand for the date the current design was made: February, 1955. The bag made a return to prominence when reissued by Karl Lagerfeld in the early 2000s and is still produced today. -
The Hermès Birkin Bag
The Birkin’s backstory is perhaps the best-known in handbag history. Legend has it that then-Hermès CEO Pierre Louis Dumas found himself sitting next to actress Jane Birkin on a plane in 1981 and noted that she was struggling with her carry-on. She told him she had had a difficult time finding a leather bag she liked, and over the course of a couple years (brands like Hermès never do anything quickly), the Birkin was born -
The Christian Dior Lady Dior Bag
The Kelly isn’t the only bag with ties to royalty. In 1995, French First Lady Bernadette Chirac presented a Lady Dior Bag, then a brand new design from the house, to Princess Diana. It wasn’t named the Lady Dior at the time, though; after Diana carried it repeatedly during press trips, the house christened it Lady Dior in her honor -
The Fendi Baguette Bag
This bag was the one that began the It Bag era. It debuted in the late 90s, just in time for repeated shout-outs from Sex and the City (including an extended metaphor of a fake Baguette as a bad marriage) to launch it into public consciousness. To this day, it takes some kind of jump from fashion-watchers to the market at large for a bag to achieve true It Bag status, although few designs get such a specific moment of pop-cultural critical mass -
The Balenciaga Motorcycle Bag
The first Motorcycle Bag was designed by Nicolas Ghesquiere himself, and at first, the brand’s parent company wasn’t sold on it. It was the brand’s models, Kate Moss among them, who took a shine to the bag, and their favor eventually convinced Kering (then PPR) to produce a limited run. Once fashion fans saw the bags on their favorite models, consumer interest took off quickly and has stayed strong for 15 years. -
The Louis Vuitton Monogram Multicolore Speedy
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The Chloé Paddington Bag
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The Fendi Spy Bag
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The Céline Luggage Tote
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The Givenchy Antigona
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The Chanel Boy Bag
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The Mansur Gavriel Bucket Bag
