This weekend, I found myself at a vintage market, where vintage Chloé Paddington bags in various colors and sizes lined the walls in place of the spots Balenciaga Le City bags may have once held court, their bronze padlocks glinting and begging to be slung around and have things thrown into them.
Every few years, an It-bag goes through a resurgence, usually after a clever re-issue by a house that starts the hotly-coveted hype cycle once again The past few years was the Balenciaga Le City/Motorcycle silhouette’s time to shine, after Demna reissued the 2010s cult classic designed by then-creative director Nicolas Ghesquière. Before that, John Galliano’s Dior Saddle Bag was brought back into the trend cycle by Maria Grazia Chiuri, just as the Louis Vuitton Speedy was brought back by Ghesquière.
Phoebe Philo is another designer who always has her finger on the pulse when it comes to an ultra-hot accessory. See: the Celine Phantom bag’s popularity circa 2012, only one year after its runway debut under her creative direction at the house. But before Philo’s Phantom, there was Philo’s Paddington, courtesy of her tenure at Chloé before she moved over to Celine. A soft leather east-west style bag with a hefty bronze padlock and rounded straps, perfect for the crook of the arm or worn snug on the shoulder. This year, with the growing popularity of Chemena Kamali’s Chloé, the Paddington is back with a vengeance as the It bag of 2025.
Chloé Spring/Summer 2005
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A little fashion history lesson: Back in 2005, the Paddington made its debut on Chloé’s Spring/Summer 2005 runway. It was paired with an oversized blazer, a transparent eyelet blouse, a cream silk skirt and a sequin skinny scarf. All very 2005. Within months, the Chloé Paddington had infiltrated the trend cycle, and was promptly spotted on early-aughts It girls aplenty, from Kate Bosworth to Mischa Barton to Lindsey Lohan. As the years went on, the coveted slouchy silhouettes of the late aughts were replaced for more structured iterations, while getting increasingly smaller until we reached the mini bag renaissance of 2020. As far as trend predictions go, most things reemerge in a 20-year cycle, so it makes sense that two decades after its boom, the Paddington would be back and better than ever.
For Chloé’s Fall/Winter 2025 show, Chemena Kamali decided to make a timely reissue of the iconic shape—only this time, the chunky, recognizable hardware was lighter, and the body crafted from washed leather for a slouchy, lived-in effect (the same that vintage editions of the original Paddington now have after 20-odd years of wear and tear). Here, the Paddington was worn alongside wispy silk dresses and ‘70s style jeans with cropped fur coats.
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It makes sense why the bag is having a resurgence now amongst the modern It girls of the era, from Daisy Edgar Jones to Katie Holmes and Dua Lipa. As we move back towards late ‘00s and early 2010s silhouettes, our waistbands are getting lower, our sunglasses larger, and our bags slouchier and more oversized. It’s bringing us back to the era of the City Bag in the club, which the Paddington fits into perfectly: chunky, slightly boho, essential to pile almost everything you own into. In a post-quiet luxury moment when both boho and Y2K style is at the forefront of the trend cycle, the Paddington services both categories, while maintaining practicality. The nerve it struck was noticeable upon its return, which speaks to the way we collectively value archival silhouettes in fashion right now. With nostalgia at an all-time high and an oversaturation of everyone owning the same It accessories, there was a gravitation towards a silhouette that marked such a specific time in fashion history.
Chloé Fall/Winter 2025
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Chloé Fall/Winter 2025
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The increase in interest hasn’t only peaked for the reissue, either. According to resale app Depop, there’s been a 104% increase in searches for the style since April, just two months following the bag's appearance back on the runway.
The prices reflect the surge in popularity, too: A few years ago, securing a preloved Chloé Paddington for less than $500 was no hard task, but fast-forward to this year, and most Paddington editions sit between $1,500-$2,000—not much lower than its current retail price of $2,750 for the medium size.
Kamali’s intention with the Paddington renaissance was to pay homage to bygone memories, and as fashion both looks forwards and backwards, perpetually steeped in nostalgia, it makes sense that we’re finding a soft spot for the silhouette now.
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