Men’s Bags Mean Money for Spring 2024

Jun 11, 2023

Clutches, crossbodies and totes — oh my!

The variety of handbag styles for men have widened in variety on the runways and the spring 2024 season reinforced the category as an increasingly important revenue stream.

For his first outing as creative director of menswear at Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams was keen to “put my feet and make tracks” with his handbags, he told WWD’s Paris Bureau Chief Joelle Diderich.

“His versions of the monogram Speedy bag in primary colors were inspired by the counterfeit versions sold on New York City’s Canal Street, but he made them in calf leather instead of canvas,” Diderich reported. Models also carried updated versions of the metallic Monogram Miroir bags introduced by Marc Jacobs in the mid-2000s.

At Dior, Kim Jones mined the house archives as well, using the cannage motif from Christian Dior’s beloved Louis XVI chairs to dress up clutches in the shape of rolled up lunch bags.

Elsewhere in Paris, Hermès showed supersized versions of its iconic Birkin named for the French actress Jane Birkin, who passed away last month at age 76. The structured top-handle was meant as an alternative to the wicker basket Birkin favored, a version of which — ironically — also made an appearance this season.

And in Milan, WWD correspondent Martino Carrera observed almost every look in the Fendi collection was accompanied by a bag, like the Peekaboo design crafted from waranshi paper as part of a collaboration between the house, architect Kengo Kuma and a Japanese craftswoman.

Etro, Gucci and Giorgio Armani were equally intent on pushing handbags for men.

Spring 2024 also saw some newer entries to the market with cult brands investing more into their accessories lines to go head-to-head with the luxury bigwigs.

After scooping up the British Fashion Council/GQ Designer Fashion Fund award for menswear, Grace Wales Bonner put her cash prize to use by launching leather goods, while 3.Paradis designer Emeric Tchatchoua debuted the brand’s first line of bags, called “Attache,” inspired by his father’s old briefcase.

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