The big bag – the bottomless, black hole kind of big bag – has never been more back than it is this year. After years of the mini bag ruling supreme, fashion’s pendulum has swung back around in favour of practicality, functionality, and a distinct taste for the noughties. What’s old is new again, and so the cycle continues.
As a true millennial, I grew up on images of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, the Hilton sisters, Lindsay Lohan and the like, toting around their Chanel jumbo Classic Flaps, Louis Vuitton Speedys and Balenciaga City bags. Now, the Olsen twins have their own luxury line, The Row; having helped usher in not only the era of “Quiet Luxury”, but also the return of the big practical tote bag in exquisite leathers with their Margaux bag. First launched in 2018, the Margaux bag has gained huge popularity in the last few years, cementing its cult “it bag” status amid comparisons to being the “new Birkin” and engendering endless waitlists.
Matthieu Blazy’s latest Métiers d’Art 2026 collection with its array of giant, slouchy, maxi flap bags in supple suedes and unstructured caviar leather, has continued to lead the big bag agenda this year. His vision for the new, modern Chanel woman has generated intense buzz and caused many “sold out before launch” tales online. Louise Trotter has continued Blazy’s love of supersizing silhouettes at Bottega Veneta – from their Andiamo to their new Barbara tote – styles to sling across the body and clutch under elbows, all in their signature interacciato leather. In his first collection for Celine, Michael Rider re-issued a Phoebe Philo-era signature: the Phantom bag, this time with even more exaggerated wings and a shorter height, pushing the silhouette visually wider and larger again.
Even Jacquemus – the ultimate proponent of the mini-est of mini bags with their Chiquito bag, known for barely holding a pair of AirPods – has released the Turismo shopper bag, recognising the desire amongst the population to be able to carry their phone inside their handbag (what a concept!), along with everything else a modern person needs in today’s society.
And the big bag isn’t limited to just women, men have been arguably even better ambassadors for the big bag of late. Jacob Elordi, a brand ambassador for Bottega Veneta since 2024, has frequently been photographed wearing his Bottega Veneta weekender and tote bags during travel. Not only that, he has also been spotted sporting multiple colours of Louis Vuitton’s Speedy P9 – a vibrant, luxurious expression of heritage meets contemporaneity. His favour of carrying bags usually reserved for women has undoubtedly inspired a wave of young men to seek out and carry bags of their own.
The French World Cup football team recently made waves upon their arrival in Boston, taking the opportunity to demonstrate even more national pride with their selection of bags from French luxury houses. Players carried not just the usual Louis Vuitton Keepall Bandoulière styles, but Hermès Haut à Courroies and Kelly bags, and even a bright green Chanel suede maxi flap from a 2019 collaboration with Pharrell Williams. It is exciting to see not only men in fashion carrying these bags, but sports stars as well. It really speaks to how luxury is ever growing in its influence and representation in culture and media.
The big bag is the ultimate style status symbol currently. The big bag has insouciance, audacity, and personality – a canvas to express fun and individuality on. It can also be simply the most practical rendition of a bag, executed in the most luxurious of materials. Whichever style suits you best, do away with the mini bag, get yourself an obnoxiously large bag, and pile it all in.
By Sisi Levinson, Luxury Specialist
Top Image: Vittoria Ceretti walks the runway during the Chanel Metiers D’Art Show 2026 in New York / Alamy
August 2026