This summer’s most luxurious beach bags

Elevate your swimsuit this summer with holiday-ready handbags from Celine, Chanel, Hermès and more

This summer’s most luxurious beach bags
Left, Bag, £2,150; bikini top, £215, both by Celine by Hedi Slimane. Right, bag, £1,110; bustier, £70; briefs, £230; sunglasses, £140, all by Max Mara. Fashion: Jason Hughes
(Image credit: Andreas Klassen)

If this summer looks to be one of unrestrained escapism – the lifting of restrictions all but guaranteeing a mass exodus to the beach – so too comes the necessity of a packing list to match, balancing a desire for relaxation and ease with the frivolity and excess that comes from finding yourself far from the daily routines of home. These conundrums find a solution in an array of this season’s holiday-ready bags, large and small, each providing a luxurious take on the humble beach bag that will elevate even the simplest of swimsuits. 

Holiday-ready beach bags, Celine to Chanel

Model carries Chanel beach bag

Bag, £4,475; bag, £4,215; top, £1,275; swimsuit, £575; sunglasses, £405; cuff, £1,275, all by Chanel

(Image credit: Andreas Klassen)

At Chanel, a high-glamour S/S 2022 collection recalled the era of 1990s swimwear-clad supers, accessorised with the ‘22’ tote, an oversized riff on the house’s signature quilted handbags – room enough for the usual overpacked jumble of beach-day accoutrements – complete with requisite chain handle and golden ‘Chanel’-branded medallion. Equally expansive is Celine’s ‘Cabas Cuir Triomphe’ in supple tan calfskin, closing with an easy drawstring fastening; pack wisely, and you’ll have space inside for a whole weekend’s worth of outfits. Max Mara’s slouchy wear-anywhere ‘Jean’ handbag, meanwhile, arrived as part of a S/S 2022 collection inspired by Françoise Sagan’s Bonjour Tristesse, the 1954 existentialist novel which captures a teenager’s languorous summer days spent in the south of France. 

Model with beach bag

Bag, £1,800; bodysuit, £485, both by Paula’s Ibiza

(Image credit: Andreas Klassen)

Elsewhere, a summertime spectrum of colour and texture set a carefree mood: Dior’s ‘Lady Dior’ handbag came this time in a miniature iteration, crafted from wicker – recalling picnic baskets and summer hats – while woven raffia made up bags from Prada and Paula’s Ibiza, Loewe’s seasonal offshoot inspired by the Balearic isle’s seminal 1970s boutique.

‘Sexy and liberated,’ said Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson of the wider collection, reflecting this season’s escapist spirit. ‘A carefree attitude that is quintessentially Ibiza.’ 

Model with beach bags

Bag; dress; rucksack, all price on request, by Bottega Veneta. Earrings, £175, by Completedworks

(Image credit: Andreas Klassen)

Model with beach bag

Blue bag, £1,950; raffia bag, £1,400; bustier, £720; hat, £590, all by Prada. Briefs, £230, by Max Mara

(Image credit: Andreas Klassen)

Model with bag

Bag (left), £3,600; bag (right), £2,600; shirt, £1,600; skirt, £1,100, all by Dior. Earrings, £215, by Completedworks

(Image credit: Andreas Klassen)

Model with black bag

Bag, £5,020; swimsuit, £425, both by Hermès 

(Image credit: Andreas Klassen)

Model with beach bag

Bag, £2,350; bra, £370, both by Fendi. Briefs, £22, by Skims

(Image credit: Andreas Klassen)

INFORMATION
A version of this article appears in the July 2022 issue of Wallpaper*. Subscribe today!

Fashion Features Editor

Jack Moss is the Fashion Features Editor at Wallpaper*. Having previously held roles at 10, 10 Men and AnOther magazines, he joined the team in 2022. His work has a particular focus on the moments where fashion and style intersect with other creative disciplines – among them art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and profiling the industry’s leading figures and brands. 

With contributions from