The Rise of Oversized Totes: A Trend Shaping Fashion in 2025 |
From celebrities to commoners, tote bags are a preferred choice among fashion enthusiasts due to their style and utility purpose. Image credits: Agency photos (Left/right), @badgalriri (centre)
WHY TOTES ARE A FAVOURITE CHOICE
Today, people wish to own a bag that is affordable and practical, with a good design and some brand recognition. As a result, Longchamp, a luxury French brand revived its Le Pliage, a lightweight, foldable roomy tote bag first launched in 1993. Due to its utility, it became popular among the Gen Z leading to increased sales. Big bags make stuffing all essential items possible. Thus, videos of content creators, and celebrities, revealing what goes inside their bags, also became popular. Giant totes are perfect to stuff all your key items like cosmetics, sunglasses, water bottle, laptop, books, phone charger, mints, etc, that you are likely to need throughout the day. This is also another major factor that led to the rise in their popularity. All these factors combined indicate that big bags are back and here to stay.
Photo Credits: Getty Images for Balenciaga Paris Womenswear Spring-Summer 2025 show (Left/Right)/Getty Image for Francesca Liberatore fashion show during the Milan Womenswear Spring/Summer 2025 (centre)
IS IT AN ONGOING TREND?
During the spring/summer 2025 catwalk shows, many brands like Miu Miu, Louis Vuitton and Hermès saw models walk the ramp with doctor bags, while Proenza Schouler opted for giant totes. Last autumn Yves Saint Laurent launched its latest Y bag – a bag so huge, it can fit an entire kitchen sink in it. The bag is now a favourite among celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Bella Hadid. This reflects the consistency of big bags being in trend. However, although the high-end fashion brands are keeping in mind the needs of the average woman, the ongoing trend is more likely a part of the industry’s cyclical nature, which also saw micro bags trend a few years ago. Further, though new designs are more utilitarian in nature, people don’t primarily and solely desire a handbag simply for its practicality. The desire for a bag, especially a designer one, often stems from other factors like its design, brand, status symbol, craftsmanship, or emotional value.
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Inputs from BBC
