Some fashion trends are instant hits that take off running. Others are more of a slow burn. They need a few seasons—or even years—to incubate, but they're seemingly everywhere once they reach their prime. The East-West bag trend falls squarely in the latter camp.
Today, in every direction you look, you'll spot the silhouette that's named after its elongated, horizontal design; The Row's EW Margaux Bag and Idaho Tote are permanent street-style fixtures for the fashion set, appearing on city sidewalks almost as often as a pigeon or stray piece of litter. Hailey Bieber alternates between Ferragamo's wide $2,500 Wanda clutch in Los Angeles and Freja's $258 Caroline bag when walking around New York City.
And then there's Alaïa's Le Teckel, French for "dachshund," which counts Rihanna, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and Julianne Moore as fans. Fashion search engine Lyst crowned the widely shaped shoulder bag—27cm x 9cm x 8cm, to be exact—as one of the season's best-selling silhouettes and instrumental in Alaïa's 51-percent rise in demand.
The silhouette is certainly not novel, though. Chanel, for one, has long championed the shape. Devotees of the French fashion house consider its East-West Chocolate Bar and now-discontinued Chanel East-West Flap coveted essentials, explains Danielle Gumina, content editor at the luxury accessories resell platform Fashionphile.
But with near-constant celebrity co-signs and a slew of other fashion power players presenting East-West styles, the trajectory of the bag trend can get confusing. So, Gumina presents a timeline for the recent East-West phenomenon. "The past two years have witnessed a notable uptick in the production of East West bags by ultra-luxury brands, with the silhouette steadily gaining popularity," explains Gumina. She credits Maria Grazia Chiuri for kicking off the design direction. "Dior unveiled the Lady D-Joy as part of their 2022 Cruise collection, presenting a horizontally shaped alternative to their iconic Lady Dior bag."
From there, other luxury labels followed suit by reinventing their signature styles in oblong shapes. Louis Vuitton turned its Pochette Métis into an East-West style in late 2022, and Loewe cropped its beloved Puzzle Tote into a slim and stout iteration a few months later. Then, in Bottega Veneta Pre-Fall '23, the Milanese fashion house released an East-West iteration of its cult-favorite Andiamo Bag. Like its big sister style, the smaller Andiamo amassed quite the celebrity fan club, including Blackpink's Lisa and funny girl Ayo Edebriri.
Hermès even threw its hat in the ring: For Spring 2024, the heritage luxury house re-released its Shoulder Birkin, a slouchier, extended iteration of the bag designed by Jean Paul Gaultier in Fall 2004 during his debut as creative director. Bag trends rarely influence the French luxury dynamo, but the re-release offers its loyal customers a fresh yet familiar alternative. A win-win.
Moda Operandi's director of accessories, Ryan Kleman, says the success of a heritage handbag redux lies in the tweaking of an already successful silhouette. "Playing with proportions and exaggerating the dimensions of an East-West style is a straightforward way to give a best-selling bag a new attitude," says Kleman. A traditional boxy Birkin is a firmly established, classic symbol of luxury, while the Shoulder Birkin (a.k.a. the JPG Birkin) is the same but a bit more casual and contemporary.
Adding to an East-West bag's commercial success is that the stretched style is typically more comfortable to carry. "They're suitable for customers of all heights, and they're not overwhelming," explains Kleman. The base sits flush under the elbow, while its slim construction doesn't encroach into your personal space.
Comfort was, in fact, top of mind for Gaultier, who designed his Birkin so the wearer could tote it around on their shoulders as a reprieve from the original hand-carry-only Birkin. Freja founder Jenny Lei cites similar reasoning behind her soft, slouchy East-West Caroline bag. "[The Caroline's] elongated shape is perfectly balanced with the extra-long shoulder drop, feeling both flattering and sleek while being practical and wearable," Lei tells Marie Claire. The bag designer thoughtfully crafted the slim '90s-inspired style so "it tucks under your arm very securely"—as both Mrs. Bieber and Katie Holmes can attest.
In addition to easy functionality, the longer-in-shape-than-height design creates an unconventional look that adds to its appeal. "In art, the landscape orientation (East-West) connotes calm and stillness, whereas a portrait orientation (North-South) is more active and engaged," Amy Zurek, the designer behind handbag brand Savette, shares. "If you combine this grounded sensibility with the exaggerated elongation, you have a bag that's both relaxed and a bit playful."
Zurek certainly knows the secret to designing an East-West bag. Savette's Slim Symmetry Pochette style has become an essential fashion editor accessory and is rarely in stock.
Now that you have the context of the trend, it's time to shop for the best East-West bags on the market. Gumina recommends looking at East-West options modeled after iconic designer bags to ensure they remain timeless. She notes Bottega Veneta and Dior are good places to start and shouts out that Chanel's East-West bags "is the second most searched at Fashionphile over the last few months."
If a high-ticket designer purchase isn't in the cards, there are plenty of novel East-West bags that you can reach for. Savette's cult-favorite skinny clutch and Freja's Bieber-approved Caroline, for instance, have perennial appeal. Ahead, we've curated a mix of the bag trends' most coveted heritage and contemporary styles.
