Dior Is Bringing Back the Saddle Bag

Maria Grazia Chiuri officially kicked off Paris Fashion Week today with a stellar fall 2018 show for Christian Dior that was full of color and bursting with joie de vivre. There were big wooly teddybear coats, rainbow-colored macramé dresses, and more patchwork than a quilting bee on Christmas.

But the real news from the show was the return of Dior’s iconic saddle bag, which made five fabulous appearances on the runway this season.

There were a two clean black leather saddle bags, which served as a gentle re-introduction to the iconic silhouette.

And three beaded versions that seem destined for street style glory in the months to come.

In the early 2000s the Dior saddle bag was the it bag. They came in every color and material you could imagine — from leather to denim to rasta-embellished logo print. The company could not keep them in stock. They were so important to the brand that there was a person in Dior’s marketing department whose entire job was figuring out how best to display the saddle bags in stores.

As with all things in fashion, the saddle bags eventually fell out of favor — especially post-John Galliano — but they have remained a memorable touchpoint for many fans of the brand and can still be found on resale sites like The Real Real for a couple hundred bucks a pop. Of course, now that Chiuri has chosen to resurrect the iconic shape, those prices will probably start to climb, so if you’ve got one burried deep in your own closet, just gathering dust, now could be the time to sell it. Or just bring it back into the main rotation. Either way.