Creative directors across major fashion brands take a look to the past this season, breathing new life into some of fashion’s most iconic bags

Luxury’s renewed fascination with the past is not simply nostalgia. It comes at a time of sweeping change, with a wave of creative director appointments reshaping major houses across Paris, Milan, London and New York. In moments of transition, the archive offers both stability and authority. Heritage becomes a foundation on which new leadership can build, anchoring fresh ideas in something familiar.

There is also logic at play. In an era defined by resale platforms and awareness around sustainability, older designs carry credibility. Vintage bags regularly outperform newer styles on the secondary market, and archival references now travel instantly across social media. The result is a consumer who values longevity and recognisable design codes as much as novelty. From a commercial point of view, revisiting the archive is no longer backwards-looking - it is strategic.

This was evident at New York Fashion Week. The denim label 7 For All Mankind, which has found renewed popularity with Gen Z, revisited the Noughties aesthetic that first defined its rise. The collection leaned into the off-duty model uniform of the era, with cardigans and skinny jeans reminiscent of the effortless style associated with Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, who came to personify that moment in fashion. Other houses have taken similar cues. At Chanel, the gaze extends even further back. Creative Director Matthieu Blazy’s Spring/Summer 2026 debut for Chanel looked back at more than a century of the house’s craftsmanship, updating classic designs in a modern way. At Gucci, the brand has also revisited important moments from its past, including pieces from the Tom Ford era and signature details like the horsebit and equestrian motifs.

Perhaps nowhere is this revival more visible than in handbags, where many of fashion’s most iconic designs are returning with subtle updates. It’s a reminder that heritage in fashion never truly disappears; it evolves with time, embraced and reinterpreted by a new generation. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Here is a look at the re-interpretations that are shaping his year ahead.

Saint Laurent

Saint Laurent has revived its early-2000s Mombasa bag, originally designed by Tom Ford in 2002, updating the classic hobo silhouette for Spring 2026 with refined leathers and modern details.

Chanel

At Chanel, Matthieu Blazy reimagined the 2.55 flap bag. The signature quilting and chain handle remained, but the addition of structural wire has given it new life.

Dior

At Dior, creative director Jonathan Anderson introduced a reimagined Lady Dior, the Lady Dior Clover, combining playful motifs with the house’s heritage shape in his first Spring Summer 2026 collection.

Celine

Michael Rider reintroduced the brand’s famed Phantom, beloved by Its girls in the Noughties, giving the nostalgic favorite a refreshed feel.

Loewe

The new creative team Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, revisited classic silhouettes such as the Amazona, blending the house’s craft heritage with a subtle shift in design direction.