Some cult bags have a tendency to come and go, but the best styles stick around for the long run – Balenciaga’s Motorcycle bag (now known as Le City) is one such example. And it reportedly wasn’t ever even meant to go into production: in 2001, then-creative director, Nicolas Ghesquière, designed the perfectly-slouchy tote as a runway accessory. Apparently, just 25 were made in the first instance, until Kate Moss requested one and it subsequently became a hallmark of Ghesquière’s tenure for the house.
As for its legacy today? It remains a go-to for supermodels, celebrities and fashion insiders alike, and former creative director Demna (who has since departed to head up Gucci), re-released the Le City last year; seeding it out to none other than its original champion, Ms. Moss (she also starred in the accompanying campaign). A recent fervid appetite for all things Y2K – and Demna’s timely revival – has pushed the Le City into It-bag territory; garnering a newfound fanbase, some of whom would’ve been in their infancy when it first debuted.
Though attitude-ridden by comparison, the Le City borrows details from other enduring handbags like the Hermès Birkin and Kelly. Like its predecessors, it’s realised in a rectangular shape (available in three sizes), with top handles and instantly-recognisable hardware, like moto zips (complete with trailing tassels), rivets, buckles and a handy mirror. Though, unlike its more elegant counterparts, the textured leather creates a unique effect that develops – and improves – with age.
A well-worn Balenciaga Le City is desirable, rather than frowned upon, as the weathering only adds to its charm. Erica Wright, founder of fashion sourcing network Sourcewhere, previously told Vogue: “This style ages particularly well, as the patina of the leather does look better over time.” She added that its signature blackened hardware can also “take more scratches that aren’t easily as noticeable compared with polished hardware.”
Kate Moss was often seen carrying the black colourway in the Noughties, but both vintage versions and Demna’s updates can be found in a vast array of hues, from retina-searing neon shades to neutral tones and multi-coloured combinations. British Vogue’s head of editorial content, Chioma Nnadi, owns a blue patch-worked take with the charm of a repurposed denim jacket.
Courtesy of Demna, the Le City reentered the direct fashion spotlight in 2024. But it’s an It-bag that, for many people, has never been on hiatus – former Vogue editor Liana Satenstein noted its ubiquity at New York Fashion Week in 2021, Charli xcx has incorporated the Le City into her off-duty Brat tour uniform and multiple Vogue editors consider it to be the ideal work bag. This is a handbag with enduring nostalgic appeal.
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