At New York Fashion Week Spring 2018, which ended yesterday, the attendees’ bags were as good as I can ever remember them being. There’s a very distinct reason for that: street style and social media stars seem to have mostly abandoned the practice of carrying a designer’s bag to the brand’s show, at least for smaller NYFW bag brands. Instead, they’re carrying more high-profile and recognizable designers, as well as more idiosyncratic indie finds that fit their looks, and the results are the best stateside FW celeb bag finds we’ve ever had.
First I was surprised, but it’s a phenomenon that makes sense. Many of the online stars who started out feeling lucky to get invited to shows at all now have enormous, dedicated audiences at their fingertips, so going to the show of any particular New York-based contemporary brand in between the week’s few truly global high-profile runways isn’t that important to the attendee herself. Her presence might be very important to the brand, though, which in turn gives these new-wave celebrities greater power to construct their own looks for these events instead of wearing whatever the brand sends over. For onlookers who don’t want to see a parade of 15 identical bags heading into a single brand’s show, that’s good news.
In turn, we’ve cataloged all the best celebrity bag moments from outside the seasons’ shows below. Enjoy!
Aimee Song
Aimee with her Chloé Pixie Bag starts off the trend of attendees carrying whatever they want instead of the bag of the designer they’re seeing. Shop the Chloé Pixie Bag via Neiman Marcus ($1,490)
Aimee Song
Aimee eschewed NY-based bag brands entirely, from what we found in the paparazzi archives. Shop the Louis Vuitton Petite Malle Bag via Louis Vuitton ($5,200)
Camila Coelho
The only exception was at Coach, where everyone was perfectly Coach-ed up, including Brazilian blogger Camila Coelho. Shop via Coach.
Chiara Ferragni
That includes Chiara Ferragni. Shop via Coach
Doutzen Kroes
Meanwhile, supermodel Doutzen Kroes hit an afterparty with one of fashion’s big bags of the moment: the J.W. Anderson Pierce Mini Bag. Shop the J.W. Anderson Pierce Mini Bag via Net-a-Porter ($1,480)
Georgia Fowler
Victoria’s Secret model Georgia Fowler went with full-on baby blue, down to her Givenchy Horizon Bag. Shop the Givenchy Horizon Bag via Neiman Marcus ($1,990)
Giovanna Battaglia
Editor Giovanna Battaglia also kept her outfit tonal, opting for a bag from the extremely reliable Nancy Gonzalez. Shop Nancy Gonzalez Bags via Neiman Marcus
Harley Viera-Newton
This isn’t quite as much color-matching coming from Harley Viera-Newton, but we respect it nonetheless. Shop Chanel Bags via Vestiaire Collective
Karlie Kloss
Alternately, model Karlie Kloss took the somewhat unorthodox step of matching her hair to her oversized suit, topped off with a Chanel Classic Flap Bag. Shop Chanel Bags via Vestiaire Collective
Jessica Alba
Remember what I said earlier about social media influencers mostly carrying whatever they felt like? Traditional celebrities, on the other hand, mostly stuck with stuff from the designers who asked them to attend. Shop the Rebecca Minkoff Box Bag via Rebecca Minkoff ($117)
Kelly Bensimon
Kelly was the only celeb with caught with a Gucci Marmont Bag, but in going through photos of arrivals, I spotted many on the arms of industry attendees with less bold-face names. Shop the Gucci Marmont Bag via Gucci ($1,790)
Leandra Medine
Man Repeller herself, Leandra Medine, normally isn’t as much of a big-name designer bag person as many of her blogging buddies, so I was somewhat surprised to see her carrying one that I like as much as this Chanel 2.55 Flap Bag. Shop Chanel Bags via Vestiaire Collective
Lily Aldridge
Lily Aldridge has been favoring this brand new Balenciaga bag pretty heavily as of late. Shop the Balenciaga Graffiti City Bag via Neiman Marcus ($1,995)
Lupita Nyong’o
Calvin Klein mostly shied away from high-end handbags for years, but now that Raf Simons is in charge, the line has been revived. Lupita Nyong’o carried one of CK’s new evening bags to the brand’s show. Shop the Calvin Klein Dome Evening Bag via Calvin Klein ($1,850)
Maggie Gyllenhaal
I always think of Maggie Gyllenhaal as the perfect Marni customer, which also makes her a good fit for Mansur Gavriel’s feminine, functional minimalism, like with this Mini Lady Bag. Shop the Mansur Gavriel Mini Lady Bag via Net-a-Porter ($750)
Mimi Elashiry
I’m not sure if model Mimi Elashiry added this strap to the popular Cult Gaia Ark Bag herself or if the brand is about to debut one that can be carried on the shoulder, but we’ll keep an eye out. Shop the Cult Gaia Ark Bag via Shopbop ($298)
Nicky Hilton
Nicky Hilton carried this Oscar de la Renta Tro Bag all around NYFW, not just to OdlR’s show. And that makes sense–it’s perfectly ladylike, just like her personal style for more formal occasions. Shop the Oscar de la Renta Tro Bag via Oscar de la Renta ($2,190)
Nina Agdal
Like Karlie Kloss earlier today, Nina Agdal is doing the big suit/classic bag combo. Shop the Louis Vuitton Alma Bag via Louis Vuitton ($1,500)
Padma Lakshmi
Normally exotic Birkins are a little over-the-top for me, but this little red version carried by Padma Lakshmi strikes me as just perfect.
Petra Nemcova
For her part, Petra Nemcova went a more accessible route with a Mackage bag. Shop the Mackage Rubie Bag via Shopbop ($375)
Rachel Bilson
Rachel Bilson is a longtime Chanel fan, and that includes this not-so-basic black Boy Bag. Shop Chanel Bags via Vestiaire Collective
Rihanna
Rihanna stays a step ahead of the game: this Gucci Coco Capitan Belt Bag appears to have already sold out. Shop via Gucci.
Rihanna
For more of her FENTY x Puma preparations, Rihanna opted for an old favorite: the Louis Vuitton x Franky Gehry Twisted Monogram Bag.
Samantha Angelo
These embellished leather versions of the Dionysus are some of the most under-appreciated of Gucci’s current bags, in my opinion. Shop the Gucci Dionysus Bag via Gucci ($4,200)
Samantha Angelo
While doing some of the monotone dressing we saw earlier in the post, blogger Samantha Angelo opted for the Nico Giani Tunilla Bag, from a designer we’ve had our eye on lately. Shop the Nico Giani Tunilla Bag via Net-a-Porter ($505)
Sara Sampaio
Shop Chanel Bags via Vestiaire Collective
Shanina Shaik
Supermodels do love their Chanel bags, and this is no average Chanel bag. Shop Chanel Bags via Vestiaire Collective
Tiffany Hsu
The more I see this mini version of the Pierce, the more I need it in my collection. Shop the J.W. Anderson Pierce Mini Bag via Net-a-Porter ($1,480)
Valentina Ferragni
You guessed it: she’s Chiara’s sister. Shop Chanel Bags via Vestiaire Collective
Veronika Heilbrunner
Naturally it was a European stylist who stepped into the wayback machine for this vintage Dior moment.
Winnie Harlow
Winnie went for a double dose of MCM, with both a belt bag and a duffel. Shop the MCM Traveler Weekender via Shopbop ($1,195)
