Shop The 8 Definitive Autumn/Winter 2021 Bag Trends
Admittedly, the handbag was on hiatus for much of 2020, forced into an early retirement – or at least, a sabbatical – at the back of the wardrobe. No one needs a bag to ferry their lip balm from the kitchen table to the kettle. But you can bet it’s back with a vengeance. Bolstered by a raft of autumn/winter 2021 bag trends, it’s ready to dutifully house your bobby pins alongside a crushed bag of peanut butter M&Ms, your cotton mask, tissues, cards, keys and Dr Bronner’s lavender-scented, organic hand sanitiser (it’s the best).
Read more: Autumn/Winter 2021 Fashion Trends
Going for a super maxi tote? You’re either paranoid or deeply prepared. Opting for a teeny tiny top-handle bag? You’re feeling buoyed by a vaccination card and your underused house keys.
Read more: Met Gala 2021: Everything You Need To Know
We’re joking, of course. But there is a middle ground in the form of chain strapped shoulder bags, that can be swung over or clutched to one’s body. And then there are the non-movers: the disco-ready pouches, the house classics revisited and updated for a loyal customer, who will love the many iterations of logo bags on offer too.
Read more: Autumn/Winter 2021 Shoe Trends
Scroll on for the autumn/winter 2021 bag trends to know now.
1/53THE BACK IN BUSINESS TOTE
If countless bottles of hand sanitiser and an eclectic array of face masks are clogging up your cross-body bag, allow us to introduce you to your autumn/winter 2021 investment purchase: the back-to-business tote. Reasonably capacious, seen in classic blacks and browns at Hermès, Fendi, and The Row, it’s the kind of grown-up bag you forgot you needed in lockdown – i.e., one that’s roomy enough to house yoga kit, a change of shoes, and the many, many cards (credit, transport, security, vaccine status) you’ll find you need when normal life resumes. And if you’re still WFH for the foreseeable? You’ll need something in which to transport your vegetables from the farmer’s market to the larder.
Pictured: Gabriela Hearst AW21.
4/53The Row
Park 3 medium leather tote, £1,450, available at Net-a-porter.com.
8/53CHAIN, CHAIN, CHAIN
A non-mover at the top of the handbag charts, the chain-handled purse isn’t going anywhere for autumn. Studded and sexy at Valentino, a little more diminutive but no less seductive at Louis Vuitton, designers also exhibited a new mood for cartoonish chains in contrasting materials. Think Playmobil, turned prim. See Longchamp, Ports 1961 and Acne Studios for further details.
Pictured: Givenchy AW21.
12/53Bottega Veneta
The chain cassette intrecciato-leather bag, £3320, available at Matchesfashion.com.
15/53PARTY LINE
For obvious reasons, designers went big on embellished, sequin-smothered bag styles for the myriad partygoers making up for lost time this winter. The biggest talking point came courtesy of Gucci, whose heart-shaped minaudière doubled up as a GCSE biology revision aid (do you know your aorta from your vena cava? Alessandro Michele is asking).
Pictured: Coperni AW21.
22/53MINI WONDERS
It’s safe to say the mini bag phenomenon is no longer that; it’s been around for too many seasons and is now ingrained in the fashion lexicon. Compact versions of some of our favourite bag styles are an ongoing delight; dinky designs from Chanel and Versace felt particularly larger than life on the runways. See also By Far and Attico for great options for weekend brunches and cute dinner dates.
Picture: Versace AW21
24/53Aspinal of London
Hat Box Micro crocodile-embossed patent leather clutch bag, £316, available at Selfridges.com.
29/53LOGO MANIA
Those that can’t resist cheerleading their favourite brands would have been thrilled with Balenciaga and Gucci’s Hacker Project, which saw the two houses aesthetics collide on the runway this season. RTW and accessories were stamped with both logos layered on top of each other – a cult classic buy for logo lovers. Elsewhere Valentino scaled up its gold “V” as an even bigger badge of honour than before.
Picture: Gucci AW21
35/53SUPERSIZE IT
In the clearest visual summary of last year’s big luxury goods debate – the handbag is dead, long live the handbag – designers took on extreme proportions with smile-inducing results. At Marni, the bags were roomy enough to house Victoria Beckham herself (we’ve got that old Juergen Teller for Marc Jacobs ad in mind); meanwhile house classics such as Loewe’s Flamenco bag were supersized, and Jil Sander’s mega totes were a lesson in measuring elegant proportions.
Picture: Jil Sander AW21.
42/53CLASSICS, REVISITED
There’s nothing like a pandemic to make you think a little harder about how you spend your dollar. Perhaps that’s why house classics – Gucci’s Jackie bag, Balenciaga’s Hourglass and Louis Vuitton's Speedy – enjoyed a stellar few months, according to retailers, as many cooped up fashion fans decided to eschew fads and invest in the futureproof. No wonder, then, that house favourites were back on the autumn catwalks with a twist as brands sought to reinvigorate their best-loved styles. Which will you pick?
Pictured: Saint Laurent AW21.
48/53PICK YOUR LOCK
Padlocks have been making a stealth return to the corners and handles of luxury bags since Matthew Williams locked and loaded at Givenchy. His first update to the house’s hit Antigona bag was the addition of a chunky padlock, as he pronounced the hardware both a symbol of his commitment to the French house and a reminder of love, recalling the padlocks on the Pont des Arts in Paris which lovers clip to the bridge. Not since Chloé’s Paddington have we seen so many padlocks glinting against plump leather – at Loewe, Louis Vuitton, Versace and Celine, to name a few, they looked reassuringly expensive.
Picture: Schiaparelli AW21.
