Dua Lipa is living her best life: this, we already know. She is also carrying her best beach bag. Strolling through JFK airport during the latest leg of her summer odyssey, the 30-year-old singer sported a stripy wicker beach bag of such hefty depth, width and height that we can safely assume she didn’t fly with Ryanair. While she didn’t seem to be accompanied by her new husband, actor Callum Turner, so large was the bag that he could feasibly have been stowed away inside.
Lipa’s bag, part of Chanel’s Biarritz Resort collection, is typical of the new super-sized, super-luxe, super-flash beach bags currently being sported in celebrity hotspots such as Mykonos, Mallorca, Comporta and Ibiza. With its impeccable pedigree, it’s the ultimate “Eurosummer” brag item: it hails from Matthieu Blazy’s debut Cruise collection for Chanel, giving it a back story that matters almost as much as its logo.
While it isn’t mandatory that your beach bag has a back story, what is mandatory is that it stands out. Whether by dint of its size, its colour or its giant logo, the louder and more “look at me” your beach bag is, the better. Ideally, its obnoxious behaviour should start on the plane, with its refusal to fit underneath the seat in front, thus requiring it to take up valuable space in the overhead locker that should really be reserved for carry-on cases. This is typical of its diva behaviour, and sets the tone for the holiday to come. Just as a leather Loewe Puzzle bag might require its own stool in a restaurant, so does a wicker Loewe “Anagram” warrant if not its own sunbed, then certainly a side table that ensures its delicate and expensive base is kept off the sand.
And we mean “expensive”. While it won’t be available to buy until around November, Lipa’s Chanel bag will cost in the region of £6,000. Other popular examples spotted on the beach this summer include Yves Saint Laurent’s “Icare” maxi-sized leather-trimmed raffia tote, £4,120, Bottega Veneta’s supersized “Hop” shoulder bag, £3,630, and The Row’s black and white raffia “Beau”, £2,230.
Justine Raffia bag, £320, Sézane; Hop Woven leather bag, £6,730, Bottega Veneta; Beau Leather and raffia tote bag, £2,230, The Row at Net-a-Porter
There are several reasons why the super-status beach bag is currently enjoying its moment in the sun. Partly, it’s a reaction against “quiet luxury”; people are ready to embrace big logos again, particularly on holiday, a time when restraint often takes a back seat in favour of ebullience. Although a logo isn’t essential. “I’d rather go for quality over a screaming logo,” says Ivana Giachino, a luxury brand consultant and the founder of Lo Studio. “Like any bag, a good beach bag is an investment. That’s the beauty of it – even slightly worn, it’s chic.”
Giachino thinks that it’s also a modern way to make a statement. “Previously, we did this with jewellery – now it’s beach bags. Even if you’re in a simple T-shirt and shorts, the right one will elevate your look. I love how [actor] Jodie Turner-Smith recently wore Zimmerman’s ‘Golden Time’ fringe tote with a simple white dress.”
Perhaps they’re also indicative of how attitudes to holidays have changed. While the impetus to look good on “vacay” is nothing new, social media has ramped up the pressure exponentially. It used to be that celebrities would take August off, disappearing onto a yacht, safe in the knowledge that for two weeks of the year, they could kick back and slob out.
Now, a holiday is another opportunity to post “content”, with all the wardrobe pressures this entails. A shabby beach bag wouldn’t cut it. We’ll never know whether Victoria Beckham enjoys posing for endless pics showcasing her enviable holiday wardrobe – or figures that, since she has zero privacy anyway, she might as well monetise the insatiable public interest. Given that she rarely wears anything that isn’t of her own design, it certainly can’t be hurting sales – both of her dresses, and her capacious bags.
If you can’t afford the obnoxious price tags – and who can? – of this summer’s designer hits, it’s still possible to get the “big bag” look for less. While it’s not brightly hued, Lululemon’s “Big Ass” bag, £285, would easily accommodate the kitchen sink, while Sézane’s maxi-sized raffia “Justine”, £320, is a less expensive take on Saint Laurent and Loewe’s maxi bags. Sienna Miller is a fan. Although with a newborn in tow, Miller has every reason to need an XXL bag. We’re not sure what everyone else’s excuse is.
Icare Raffia bag, £4,120, Saint Laurent; Anagram Palm and leather bag, £950, Loewe; Big-Ass bag, £228, Lululemon