The Dior Saddle Bag Is Back

Dior’s saddle bag is about as throwback as it gets. In its heyday, worn slung across Carrie Bradshaw; in its lower moments championed by fresh-faced reality stars Paris and Nicole, it symbolises everything It-girl fashion once encompassed. But thanks in part to what Vogue describes as “fashion’s born-again taste in logos”, the accessory is back in favour decades later, with its official relaunch this week. Since her appointment in 2016, Dior’s Creative Director, Maria Grazia Chiurri, has often paid homage to her design predecessors, but this reinvention of John Galliano’s cult style is the first of its kind – although smart new calfskin finishes and (somewhat) subtler hardware give this new iteration a much-needed modern update.

Feel like you’ve already seen the bag all over Instagram? You’re not wrong – Chiurri enlisted 100 influencers to post pictures of themselves with the piece online at 2pm yesterday to officially announce the launch. From Leandra Medine to Sincerely Jules, Chriselle Lim to Chiara Ferragni, all the biggest names have championed the look, with some sticking to pared-back designs and others embracing embroidered, patchwork canvas – there’s even the classic logo print for the particularly nostalgic.

They may not be cheap – they start at a cool £1,700 going up to £6,000 – but as British Vogue points out: “In Dior’s atelier, teams of leather craftsmen hand-stitch and assemble each bag one by one.” You can even watch the end-to-end design process on the brand's site now. Plus, the look has already proven itself to be a comeback kid once; who’s to say it won’t be back again? Now, if that’s not an incentive to invest…