Handbag trends, like most fashion trends, are cyclical, perhaps even more so than when it comes to clothing or shoes. After all, the styles that have stood the test of time, from the Hermès Birkin to the Fendi Baguette – are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago.
The latest handbag trend to emerge this year is, once again, not so new. In fact, it’s a modernisation of a style that goes all the way bag to the Victorian era. The leather doctor’s bag, aka medicine bag or “gladstone bag” were popularised during the time of Willian Ewart Gladstone, the Victorian prime minister then, and featured a wide opening and gold clasp ideal for doctors to store their medicine for house calls.
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Alessandro Viero
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You’d likely seen the styles hanging around antique shops or in period dramas, often in brown leather and tattered. Now fashion houses have revived the utilitarian bag and made them worthy of the modern woman.
On the spring/summer 2025 runway, Miu Miu models carried capacious suede totes featuring long handles and horse bit clasp detail, and Bottega Veneta showcased an exaggerated version of the style in croc leather. Other brands – from the Mulberry Bayswater bag to Nanushka’s new Sandi bag – have smaller, fun-sized versions of the doctor’s bag but no matter the size, the 2025 way to carry the bag is to tuck it under the arm like a clutch.
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Of course, certain brands have long made this handbag an iconic style of their house for many decades. Fendi‘s Peekaboo, for instance, is one of the Italian brand’s most beloved silhouettes, just as Loro Piana’s Loom Bag has become a leather embodiment of quiet luxury.
With the help of A-listers like Hailey Bieber and Sydney Sweeney, who’ve all adopted Miu Miu’s Aventure style (Hailey was spotted carrying the style all over her recent Aspen getaway with hubby Justin Bieber) inspired by a 2009 doctor’s bag, high street brands have begun peddling styles of their own.
We’re calling it now. To get a head start on 2025’s trendiest handbags, you’d best add the medicine bag to your rota.
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