An Australian fashion stylist has revealed the current trending handbag styles of 2025 – and those you should ditch for the foreseeable future.
In stark contrast to recent seasons that have seen smaller sized bags become the accessory of choice among the fashion set, Australian stylist Victoria Olabuntu predicts that ‘minimalism and functionality’ will be the hallmarks of this year’s trending handbags.
‘When I say functional, I mean a bag that you could throw your whole entire life into,’ Victoria told FEMAIL.
The style expert said that two specific oversized handbag styles are about to have their moment in the spotlight, the main one being the soft and slouchy top-handle tote, inspired by The Row’s Margaux bag.
‘It’s very chic, very stylish and functional,’ the stylist said.
‘It’s both a work bag but also a fashion bag.’
‘We’re already seeing the style trickle down from high end designer to high street and even affordable dupes.’
The other large bag on the stylist’s radar for this year is the casual and oversized canvas bag, along the lines of Dior’s Book Totes.
‘I think a big reason this style is trending is because these days we are perpetually on vacation – or at least Instagram makes us believe that people are perpetually on vacation,’ Victoria explained.
‘Styles like the Dior Book Bag and other canvas totes align with that because they give us that feeling of a travel, vacay, in-transit bag.’
But not all smaller handbag styles are out of the frame in 2025.
One of the more bold and unexpected handbags that is expected to sky rocket in popularity is the ‘east west’ bag, which has a distinct rectangular shape and dramatically long handles.
Victoria said that high end designer brand Alaïa paved the way for this trend with their Le Teckel range of east west bags.
‘Locally, Australian brand Oroton has a really, really good version – and it’s far more affordable compared to the designer versions,’ she said.
An absolute statement piece, this unique handbag is ‘fun, interesting and eye catching’ – but also surprisingly versatile.
‘You can wear it as an evening bag, but it also has an ease to it that would work well in the day as an accent to whatever you’re wearing,’ she said.
Just as new handbag trends come into fashion, others also similarly fall out of style.
Victoria revealed that there are two distinctive handbags that were wildly popular but are now worth taking out of your regular rotation.
One of them is the woven quilted padded bags, inspired by the Bottega Jodie.
With its recognisable crescent shape and sometimes featuring a knot detail on the handle, Victoria said it’s ‘definitely had its moment’.
‘Put it away for now – but don’t throw it out because trends come back – and they cycle so much faster these days,’ she said.
The other handbag the stylist believes has run its course is vanity case-inspired bags, like the ones originated by the Saint Laurent Gaby collection.
If you’re looking to invest in a new bag in 2025, irrespective of the trends, Victoria said it’s important to ‘buy something you love – not just because it’s trendy’.
‘You want to buy something that you will continue to wear and love – even once the hype wears off,’ she said.
‘If you are feeling uncomfortable or weird about wearing a particular bag or any fashion piece, then I can tell you, it’s not going to look good. But if you feel good in it and you’re rocking it, I promise you, it will work.’
As for how to style your handbag with the rest of your outfit, Victoria’s tip is to not get caught up with trying to match your handbag with other accessories.
‘Accessories are accents to an outfit – they’re like your punctuation,’ the expert explained.
‘If it clashes and it’s not appealing to the eye, then that’s a reason to maybe change it.
‘A handbag particularly should elevate, complement, or add dimension to an outfit – and while it shouldn’t clash, it doesn’t need to be matchy-matchy.’
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