If you are a luxury buff and enthusiast, this article is your key page in the luxury bible of most iconic luxury handbags and the stories behind them. For a handbag to be iconic, timelessness is a vital factor to punch in – since many bags do lose their momentum over a period. Only a few of them seem to get better with age – remain as strong as ever. Most of these come from iconic legacy luxury fashion houses and have established themselves as the most classic, timeless, and iconic bags of our day and age.Do you know the stories behind each? How some of the most famous celebrities and social figures have played a crucial role to make these handbags classic and iconic? Let’s learn.
2. Hermes – Kelly (Grace Kelly)
One of the most coveted luxury handbags is the Hermes Kelly, initially coined
as ‘Sac a Depeche’ meaning ‘a mail bag’.
It is noted that this bag was designed by Hermes’ son-in-law – Robert Dumas,
in the 1930s.
From a design viewpoint – the bag left out the embellishment trend and
focused essentially on crafted leather and simple lines.
4. • Edith Head, a costume designer in Hollywood, supplied the set of To Catch a
Thief, 1955, with some Hermes accessories – via the approval of Alfred
Hitchcock.
• This movie was featuring the infamous actress, Grace Kelly.
• It is said that Grace Kelly loved the bag so much that she carried it almost
everywhere off-screen to events and gatherings including the announcement
of her engagement to Prince Rainier of Monaco.
5. • During her pregnancy post her wedding, she is widely known to
cover her baby bump with the Hermes bag from the media, one of
these photos made it to the Life magazine and people who were
following her story and every move coined the handbags as a
‘Kelly’.
7. Hermes – Berkin (Jane Berkin)
• Considered to be the top bag in the hierarchy of handbags by several world
experts in luxury, Hermes Berkin is named after the actress Jane Berkin.
• What we know about its origin is that in the early 1980s during one of her
air travels, Jane Birkin, accidentally met the then Hermes Chief Executive,
Jean-Louis Dumas.
8. • On this specific flight journey when everything fell out of Jane’s
bag with Dumas sitting next to her,
He said to her to have a bag with pockets, to which she replied –
‘The day Hermes makes one with pockets, I will have that’.
9. • 1984- Hermes Berkin hits the shelves and is an immediate success. One
of the most expensive, luxurious, and desirable bags today, it is one bag
that needs you to be on the waitlist before you can own it.
• It’s an ultimate status symbol today, with unique and rare Birkin bags
that are seen selling at astonishing prices at auctions.
• Some experts have even gone ahead to say that today it’s better to
invest in a Hermers Birkin bag than in gold.
11. Louis Vuitton ( Speedy)
• LV is a popular luxury brand globally and one of their iconic
creations has been its Speedy bag.
• A legacy brand that started by selling travel accessories like
curated trunks and spacious duffel bags – Speedy was their first
ever purse in the 1930’s.
12. • The Speedy bag was first coined as ‘express’ to pay homage to the
brand’s travel revolution.
• What was designed as a smaller version of their iconic bag Keepall
– a travel bag – is now more commonly known as Speedy 30 – which
is 30 cm wide at the bottom.
13. • This is one bag that changed the direction of the luxury house
making them leaders in the handbag market with just one strong
connection – Audrey Hepburn
15. Dior – Lady Dior
This bag has royal connections. It represents status, class, and
elegance.
This classic by Christian Dior was offered as a diplomatic gift by the
first lady of France, Madame Bernadette Chirac to Lady Diana (also
known as Princess Diana) during her visit to Paris in 1995.
17. Fendi- Baguette
The Fendi Baguette is a more recent addition to the iconic luxury
handbag edition, which surely does not take away how iconic his
bag has become over a short period of time.
18. • Designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi in 1997 – Fendi Baguette – was given its
name for how easy it was to carry the bag under the arm just like how
French are usually seen carrying their baguettes.
19. • The bag however gained its popularity thanks to the super hit TV-
series known as Sex and the City that featured Carrie Bradshaw
(played by the iconic actress Sarah Jessica Parker) in the early
2000s.
• The show has a famous scene wherein the main character got
mugged on the streets of New York and when the robber asks for
her bag, Carry refers to her bag as ‘it’s a baguette’.
