Skip to content

OTTODISANPIETRO

Get our app ✨

Download

Cart

Your cart is empty

Select your gift wrapping

Article: 2025 handbag trends

2025 handbag trends

Each season, handbags take their place as the silent narrators of what's happening in fashion. In 2025, their voice is louder and more deliberate. From Paris to Milan, runways made it clear that functionality now reigns over desire. Practicality is the new luxury. Alongside it, we see a parade of recognizable shapes, artisanal materials, and structural details that reignite our urge to look closely.

The Boston bag, also known as the doctor bag, returns to the spotlight as the logical next step after the maxibag trend of recent years. Alongside it, the East-West bag continues its quiet rise as a cult silhouette. Raffia and natural fibers are now a serious commitment to traditional craftsmanship and a defense of local values on the global stage.

Without further delay, here are the shapes defining 2025, the houses interpreting them, and the selection of trends leading the conversation.

The Boston Bag Trend

Among the most recurrent shapes this season, the Boston bag—or doctor bag—returns as a nod to practicality. The most coveted model of the moment? The India Bag by The Row, presented in the Spring 2025 collection in various neutral tones.

The Boston bag was the first fashion handbag in history to receive a proper name. It first appeared in Boston, Massachusetts, where it was used as a practical briefcase during the Industrial Revolution.

Its rectangular form and curved edges now appear in soft leathers and sober tones from houses like The Row. Other brands such as Celine (available exclusively in our physical stores) reinterpret the format in smaller proportions. The result is a direct evolution of the 2023–2024 maxibag trend, now focused on a more structured, geometric, and functional aesthetic.

East-West Bag Trend

The horizontal silhouette (hence the name, East to West) continues its reign following the Alaïa Le Teckel phenomenon. These elongated bags are now the go-to for quiet chic style. They’re worn crossbody, on the shoulder, or tucked casually in the crook of the arm.

Brands like Prada, Bottega Veneta, and Alaïa have introduced new versions for the spring season, ranging from retro to ultra-contemporary: rigid handles, patent leather finishes, decorative closures like the Knot on the Andiamo Clutch, and standout colours that give this versatile silhouette its identity.

Prada bridges this shape with one of its most iconic styles: the bowling bag. The Prada Swing Shoulder Bag, seen on the Spring/Summer 2025 runway, is their ultimate answer to the East-West trend. Likewise, styles like the Prada Aimée are reliable bets for both the present and the future.

Designer Raffia Bags Trend

Raffia, woven leather, crochet… artisanal fabrics continue to take centre stage, now with fresh perspectives. It’s not just nostalgia: there's a clear aesthetic and emotional intent behind choosing handmade textures. What began with Bottega Veneta and Loewe’s renewed focus on craftsmanship now continues with Jacquemus, The Row, Celine, and Saint Laurent, all offering handwoven designs.

This season, one collection stands out above the rest: the Chloé Summer Banana line. Each bag is handmade by a single artisan over four days, taking the final design to a new level of artisanal value. The collection is crafted in collaboration with Made For A Woman, an initiative Chloé has supported for several years in its raffia designs. Based in Madagascar, this program works to protect the island’s raffia heritage and ensure the future of its craftswomen.

Other brands like Jacquemus are updating basket bags with crescent shapes and bold colours. Meanwhile, Celine (exclusive to our physical stores) and Saint Laurent reinterpret classic silhouettes using jute and natural fibres.

Slouchy Bag Trend

The slouchy bag explores silhouettes that play with gravity. These are models that curve, sway, and almost float around the body. In contrast to rigid classics, slouchy styles offer their own take on elegance.

Among the softest icons, one model continues to reign: Le 5 à 7 by Saint Laurent. This design maintains structure but features ultra-soft, flexible leather that unlocks a world of possibilities. It’s practical, adaptable, and comfortable—shaped by the day and the body. Its name pays homage to the French New Age film Cléo de 5 à 7. The Saint Laurent Jamie bag is another bag that has become a popular choice for the slouchy silhouette. 

Alaïa presented its own take on the slouchy silhouette at the Guggenheim, merging it with the East-West trend: Le Click East-West by Alaïa, a model with a unique curved closure already celebrated by contemporary style muses like Paloma Elsesser.

The slouchy bag isn’t new to some brands—Loewe and The Row have been defining it for years with models like the Loewe Flamenco or The Row Shopping Park. Relaxed, iconic, unmistakable.

Belted Bags Trend

It all started with Prada and their now-ubiquitous Buckle Bag. This model first introduced top-handle and tote bags featuring belt-like closures that expand the bag’s opening.

Since then, the design has become a mainstay at Prada, now available in various sizes, colours, and materials. The belt evolved into a decorative and structural motif across collections. Around the same time, the Loewe Pebble Bag entered the scene with an extra-long belt-style handle—resembling a bucket bag fastened with a strap.

From Prada and Loewe’s belt buckets, we arrive at Jil Sander’s Folded Tote and Cannolo, both featuring ultra-long, perforated handles with adjustable fastening, carrying the belt theme through to functionality.

In men’s fashion, the belt lives on in the form of the bum bag—a practical style that emerged during the rise of streetwear and never really left.

Read more

THE STYLE OF SEX AND THE CITY

THE STYLE OF SEX AND THE CITY

What would Carrie Bradshaw wear if she shopped at OTTODISANPIETRO? Over two decades since its debut, HBO’s Sex and the City remains a fashion reference point in our collective imagination. But i...

Read more
Men's 2025 Fashion Trends

Men's 2025 Fashion Trends

Men's fashion is going through a curious moment. With a subtle return to more classic shapes, there remains a sense of freshness unseen in previous decades. In menswear, the fashion trends for 202...

Read more
SPRING/SUMMER 2025 COLLECTIONS AND TRENDS

SPRING/SUMMER 2025 COLLECTIONS AND TRENDS

Spring/Summer 2025 is a showcase of imagination at its finest. From Milan to Paris, the runway shows of major fashion houses have brought forward ideas, gestures and perspectives that speak to our...

Read more