Another year, another season full of exciting designer collections to ogle. With the latest batch of fall runway shows coming to a close, it’s time to dive into what we do best: trend spotting. In this installment, we’re taking a break from the clothes to dive into the handbags that blew up the runways (and in turn the internet). While a number of enduring classics made an appearance—Valentino’s beloved Rockstud totes and Hermès’s famous Birkin were two examples—designers also weren’t afraid to experiment. The overall theme of this season’s emerging handbag trends was bold and multidimensional, playing on exaggerated shapes or outlandish proportions that almost dwarf the bag’s wearer. While some of the trends we’ve spotted are so dramatic they’re bound to be the subject of endless Twitter threads, other trends skewed way more practical. Regardless, we assure you they’ll be everywhere
Back again for another moment in the spotlight, 2D bags were on full display on the fall runways. Think of them as fancy portfolios—without the endless amounts of paper stuffed inside. Givenchy especially has been a big proponent of this thin profile with the addition of its Cut Out bag, an original by Creative Director Matthew Williams.
Brace yourself because you’ll be seeing a lot of fuzzy bags this season. One of the more universal accessory trends, soft, cloud-like bags popped up everywhere from Prada and Miu Miu to Jacquemus and Bottega Veneta among the many other brands that followed suit. With the brunt of winter knocking on our doorstep, shearling and feather bags come right on time. With a bag this cozy, who needs hand warmers?
If you haven’t noticed yet, designers love big bags, and not just any kind will do. XL shoppers (bigger than the model in some cases) arrived on the fall runways with force, appearing at Marni, ACNE Studios, and New York–based label Khaite. If you don’t need a comically large bag, there are plenty of roomy options that won’t engulf your entire body. Maybe it’s not a practical solution for those who prefer to travel light, but you’ll be ready for anything at a moment’s notice.
A former fashion faux pas, matchy-matchy outfits are back! And while there were different interpretations of the trend—like Marc Jacobs’s coordinating puffer-and-bag combo and Versace’s matching glove-and-bag moment—the common thread seems to be pairing an element of your clothes to your handbag. We still have a few months before a few of fall’s loudest matching-print combos hit the stores (looking at you, Balenciaga), but designers like Dries Van Noten and Paco Rabanne are already on it.
You can always count on some sort of geometric shape to make the rounds come fashion week, and according to Celine, Coperni, and a whole lot more, it’s the cube that’s primed for a rise this season. ACNE Studio’s leather cubed bags are already at the top of my personal wish list.
No, it’s not just you: Another Y2K trend has graced us with its presence in the collective fashion subconscious. Bowler bags were a staple of the early aughts thanks to Prada and Louis Vuitton, but it seems the silhouette is due for another moment in the sun. While single-handle bags have dominated the past few years, it’s exciting to see an old favorite shake things up a bit.
