The Birkin from Hermès . Dior’s Saddle Bag. The denim Baggy by Louis Vuitton .
.. To the canon of iconic luxury purses, we can now add the Holy Bag by Courrèges.
The French fashion house debuted the US$990 purse – a modern rework of a piece in its archive, with a firm casing, a round adjustable strap, and a discreet curvaceous logo – at Paris Fashion Week in February. {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Simple, stylish – and now immensely popular – the Holy Bag has been a hit for creative director Nicolas Di Felice.
Photo: Courrèges","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/16/be1f1bd3-c5b5-4fa6-988d-1d005f5e578e_c5cba8d9.
jpg"} Simple, stylish – and now immensely popular – the Holy Bag has been a hit for creative director Nicolas Di Felice. Photo: Courrèges In the months that followed, the Holy Bag quickly cemented itself as a celebrity “It” bag. Stylists credit the Holy Bag’s popularity to its embodiment of two current fashion trends: quiet luxury and nostalgia.
One said it’s also a sign of the effectiveness of Courrèges’ new artistic director: a millennial who is reviving the brand. 1. It’s the epitome of quiet luxury {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"The Holy Bag is the epitome of quiet luxury thanks to its discreet metallic logo. Photo: Courrèges","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/16/aefed1e8-6ed4-4707-a7e8-69566c420d6d_c5cba8d9.jpg"} The Holy Bag is the epitome of quiet luxury thanks to its discreet metallic logo. Photo: Courrèges Courrèges’ Holy Bag is appealing for a few reasons, stylists said.
Yael Quint, a stylist based in New York City and Los Angeles, said via email that the Holy Bag is an ideal example of the quiet luxury trend because it lacks overt branding. The small metallic symbol on the purse is a stylised version of the letters AC, an homage to the brand’s founder André Courrèges. The Holy bag is “chic, stands up on its own – which is great – and isn’t too busy,” said Quint, who has worked with Kris Jenner, Julia Fox , and Chloe Fineman.
2. It has a reasonable price point {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Dua Lipa takes the white Holy Bag for a walk with her boyfriend Callum Turner.
Photo: @CourregesParis/X","url":"https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/16/576e4a73-a9ba-46e5-90e7-9caa4f8bb821_7de20554.
jpg"} Dua Lipa takes the white Holy Bag for a walk with her boyfriend Callum Turner. Photo: @CourregesParis/X Aisya Washington, a fashion and wardrobe stylist in New York, said that the Holy Bag’s shape is reminiscent of a Dooney & Bourke purse that was popular in the 2000s, when she was growing up. “It was the cutest bag,” she said, adding that “it had a hard casing but a cute shape”.
But it doesn’t hurt that the Holy Bag comes in a variety of sizes and colours at different price points, according to Quint. While the standard size is US$990, mini ones can cost as little as US$790, while larger models retail for up to US$1,780. Some other quiet-luxury purses are more expensive.
The Row ’s Margaux Bag starts at US$3,490, while Bottega Veneta’s coveted quilted purses range from US$1,500 to an eye-watering US$45,900. 3. It showcases the brilliance of Courrèges’ new artistic director {"@context":"https://schema.
org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"The larger Holy Bags can be used as a weekender or for work. Photo: Courrèges","url":"https://img.i-scmp.
com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/16/27d9e929-3d2a-48e4-8633-5dd32f0a51b1_5a817560.jpg"} The larger Holy Bags can be used as a weekender or for work. Photo: Courrèges The Holy Bag’s success represents Courrèges’ transformation under Nicolas Di Felice’s stewardship, Quint said.
Di Felice, who is in his early 40s, joined Courrèges as artistic director in 2020 after stints at Balenciaga, Dior, and Louis Vuitton . He arrived with a mission to breathe new life into a fashion house that had its heyday in the 1960s, according to industry publication Business of Fashion. “They made the right decision bringing him on,” Quint added.
“I do love 1960s Courrèges and everything the brand has built and its history,” Quint said. “Nicolas just has a gift and knows what will work in the celebrity space creatively and also from a marketing standpoint.” 4.
It’s practical {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"The Holy Bag comes in a variety of sizes and colours at different price points. Photo: Courrèges","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/16/3709b344-4a7c-4880-8b9c-70fc977ff46f_c5cba8d9.jpg"} The Holy Bag comes in a variety of sizes and colours at different price points.
Photo: Courrèges The stylists also said Courrèges designed the Holy Bag to cater to more than just a famous crowd. The purse is priced “at the perfect amount” to be “accessible to advanced contemporary buyers as well as luxury buyers,” Quint said. “It’s at a sweet spot,” she added, explaining that Courrèges is “being really smart and strategic” by gearing it not just toward a “celebrity” clientele but also everyday, if affluent, women.
Washington also liked that the bag presents a luxurious image but is still “practical”. Both stylists said they can see professional women in leadership and executive positions being drawn to the purse. “A businesswoman who works hard is absolutely going to indulge in luxury,” Washington said.
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"ImageObject","caption":"Emily Ratajkowski was seen holding the black Holy Bag in July. Photo: @CourregesParis/X","url":"https://img.
i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/08/16/9f8b677a-3320-4bb5-887c-5af584e6426c_7390c88c.jpg"} Emily Ratajkowski was seen holding the black Holy Bag in July.
Photo: @CourregesParis/X It can also go from day to night use, she added. “You can always put the strap in the bag, and then you have a cute little handle bag, and you can go to cocktails with that,” Washington said. Depending on the size, Quint said the Holy Bag can also be used as a travel bag or a weekender, adding that it also comes in a variety of colours with options for embroidery and embossing.
“I’ve never been a tiny-bag girl, so it’s good to have that option for myself,” she said. This article originally appeared on Business Insider . If you’ve already got an Hermès Birkin or a Louis Vuitton Baggy, you may think your classic handbag collection is complete – but we beg to differ Nicolas Di Felice has brought French luxury brand Courrèges back to prominence in recent years, and his modern reworking of a bag from the archives has everyone obsessed.
