“It’s interesting that Saint Laurent,” wrote Kaitlin in a 2021 piece, “has mostly steered clear of bringing back a bag from its archives, despite introducing new shapes that have a vintage appeal.” Indeed, while the likes of Dior, Fendi, and Gucci jumped on the archival revivals train as early as 2018, the house of Monsieur Yves under Anthony Vaccarello has so far refrained.
And it’s true. While the brand continues to reinvent the Sac de Jour in myriad forms and fabrications, while also infusing the interlinking YSL insignia onto a slew of fresh silhouettes, it hasn’t had much success with an archival revival as much as its fellow labels in the Kering and LVMH stables, with the possible exception of a short-lived reissue of the slouchy-chic Downtown Tote, toted everywhere by the likes of Kate Moss and Hillary Duff in the mid-aughts.
Which is not to say that the house hasn’t had its fair share of nostalgic icons: the Muse, the Cabas Chyc, the Easy Y and the Tribute were all Y-heavy hits that Hedi Slimane axed almost as soon as he was appointed the creative director in 2013 (along with the “Yves” from the name, “thereby severing,” wrote Cathy Horyn at the time, “a symbolic connection to the founder, and everything he stood for, like good taste and feminine power.”)
“Saint Laurent has had many handbag hits,” Kaitlin went on to muse, “but seemingly not one that’s worthy enough for a comeback.”
Therefore, it should’ve been – in the very least – reassuring to handbag-lovers when the brand decided to unveil an updated iteration of its 2001-hit, the Mombasa, earlier this January. But was it really?
Must You Have the Bags They Say You Must Have?
“On a recent Sunday morning,” wrote The Washington Post in 2024, “management consultant Lara Apstein stood outside the Balenciaga flagship store on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue, admiring a “gorgeous and perfect” $2,850 bag in the window. A near-identical bag, dating to 2001, was already dangling from Apstein’s arm.” “I bought it the first time,” Apstein explains.
Now, the Mombasa was a contemporary to the aforementioned Balenciaga, conceived by none other than Tom Ford himself at the height of it-bag mania. And this was the hit that firmly planted YSL as a major player in the handbag market, reportedly helping to sell upto a staggering $90 million worth of accessories, noted Horyn at the time. ”Having a strong bag at Saint Laurent was very key,” observed Mr. Ford in that same article.
And now, 25 years later, both the Mombasa and the Balenciaga are back. And it’s not just the two of them; Jonathan Anderson rolled out a reinterpretation of the classic Dior Saddle inlaid in lucky four-leaf clovers in celebration of the Lunar New Year. The Fendi Baguette has yet again earned its own small-screen plotline thanks to Emily in Paris. In short, if you thought 2026 was the new 2016, think again, because it’s also the new 2001.
But wait, is it also the new 2003, because those Multicolor Louis Vuitton Murakami carryalls too have made a comeback? It could also be the new 2005, as both the Chloé Paddington and the Fendi Spy have recently resurfaced in the zeitgeist (and on the runway). Not to mention, 2026 is definitely the new 2010, because Michael Rider’s new Celine Luggage already appears to be reaching critical mass. In fact, now that revivals are everywhere (they even revived The Devil Wears Prada!), what really is new anymore?
Reference Versus Revival
Of course, it’s no secret that fashion is obsessed with, well, itself.
Early in 2022, designer Anna Sui came across a gray crushed velvet and fur-trimmed halter dress from her FW1998 collection for sale on Poshmark, and immediately DMed the seller: “Hi this is Anna Sui. I saw you sold this already but I was wondering if it would be possible for me to buy it instead? We don’t have this sample and it would mean a lot for me to have it in my archive.”
Like Sui, fellow American designer Betsey Johnson is on a quest to rebuild her archive: “I’m desperately yelling out to all the vintage dealers,” she says. “If you’ve got any of my stuff, email me, send me pictures, text me, because I need to recreate 55 years of my work. I didn’t think how important it might be one day.” The archives at Maison Dior, on the other hand, have been meticulously maintained since 1985, comprising pieces and sketches from Monsieur Dior’s own tenure, and allowing present-day creative director Jonathan Anderson to reinterpret the founder’s original skirtsuits and bow motifs as eccentric cargo-pants and those lopsided Bow Bags that debuted on the SS26 runway.
Contrast this with Maria Grazia Chiuri’s FW25 runway presentation for Dior, which, Vogue Business writes, “featured a swing, a hovering pterodactyl, a few comets and smoke machines, plus some iceberg-like sculptures,” all to reveal a rehashed version of John Galliano’s J’Adore Dior tee from SS2001.
This quickly makes it clear that there exist clear distinctions between an archival reference (Jonathan Anderson’s Dior, Mathieu Blazy’s Chanel, or Sean McGirr’s reinterpretation of the Alexander McQueen skull-print), and an archival revival (think the Paddington or the Mombasa reissues).
And while the former requires deft design language and artistic merit, the latter, more often than not, runs the risk of coming across as a sloppy (or even lazy) cash grab banking on the nostalgia train.
So, is it really surprising that’s it’s more of the latter that we see?
Nostalgia is Trapped in the Algorithm
It is this that brings me to the chief complaint I have about designer reissues (or revivals) nowadays (took me long enough, I know).
And this is that the runways – and really, new collections in general at the heritage houses (save for a precious handful of Jonathan Andersons, Mathieu Blazys, and Louis Trotters) – have begun to resemble a hodgepodge of reworked yesteryear classics, much like how they look on a resale site.
The original iteration of the Mombasa, for instance, while escaping the classic trope of loud logos prevalent at the time, managed to leave its own mark with its stately raw deer antler handle – a wild edge to an otherwise manicured purse. And its desirability lay in its insider appeal, having been doled out by Ford to everyone from his editor friends to Gwyneth Paltrow. While the Baguettes and Saddles of the time were making rounds on Carrie Bradshaw’s delicate shoulders, the Mombasa’s presence was more guttural, straight from the plains of the African Savannah. Of course, it was flying off the shelves.
The Mombasa reissue, on the contrary, feels like a dispassionate copy-and-paste, a revival for the sake of a revival. Why this? Why now? The Instagram @Y2KBags texted former Vogue editor Liana Satenstein with regards to the new Mombasa: “I have no words.” It’s the same pet peeve I have about the newly-relaunched Mulberry Roxanne – it’s too devoid of personality!
Which is not to say, yet again, that a revival can never be done right. Chloé’s second coming of the Paddington feels more organic under Chemena Kamali (following that spectacular runway wedge moment) precisely because it’s so on-theme with the rest of the label’s boho-chic image. The Balenciaga City revival similarly works because its louche insouciance look just at home on the arms of a modern-day Alex Consani as it did on Kate Moss 25 years ago.
Even Kate Spade is on the hunt for ’90s archival purses: “People are very devoted to Sam, and they keep them for 25, 30 years,” claimed Kristen Naiman, the brand’s Senior Vice President of Brand Concept and Strategy, “We’ve had people send them back and say, ‘Please remake this!’”
It’s how brands choose to roll out that remake that makes all the difference. Because at the end of the day, we, as the nostalgia-obsessed culture that we are, will continue to consume nonetheless.
