Though fall technically just started, one specific handbag has already established itself as the season’s front-runner, and not just. There really is no competition (at least not yet). Saint Laurent’s Le 5 à 7 hobo bag, with its slouchy shape and spacious interior, has been a fan favourite for a few seasons now, constantly showing up on the shoulders of A-listers like Hailey Bieber and Laura Harrier. It wasn’t until the French fashion house released a calf-hair version printed with leopard spots that the slouchy yet structured style reached viral status, selling out in record time on Saint Laurent’s website. Now, following an impressive showing during Paris Fashion Week, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that fall 2024’s first true It bag is here, and its presence in this year’s zeitgeist is nowhere near its peak.
Saint Laurent’s of-the-moment hobo bag was first spotted on two of its most influential ambassadors, Zoë Kravitz and Hailey Bieber. Bieber carried the bag back in July during the latter stage of her pregnancy, styling it with an equally talked-about leather bomber jacket, black trousers, and her signature ’80s earrings for a church service with her husband. With an all-black backdrop, the spotted nature of her purse stood out significantly, leaving fans of the Rhode founder’s style to inquire about the anti-quiet bag from the get-go. When Kravitz was seen around the same time at a dinner with Saint Laurent’s creative director, Anthony Vaccarello, at Sushi Park in Los Angeles, the leopard-print bag was also in tow.
How Celebrities are Styling their Saint Laurent Leopard Print Bags:
(Image credit: Backgrid)
On Hailey Bieber: Saint Laurent Bomber Jacket in Lambskin (£5035) and Le 5 à 7 Small YSL Hobo Bag in Leopard-Print Calf Hair (£2290).
Style Notes: I certainly didn’t expect to spot Saint Laurent’s latest viral handbag at the Italian Grand Prix, but I did, on Alexandra Saint Mleux, a content creator and the girlfriend of Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc. Saint Mleux wore the handbag on two occasions during her stay in Monza, showing off its versatile qualities in the F1 paddock. On its debut, she styled the statement accessory with a white crop top and matching knee-length skirt, also adding gold-rim sunglasses and strappy, flat sandals to the mix. Two days later, after wearing a leopard-print coat for Quali day, she paired the bag with a simple, bateau-neck midi dress in black and an alternative pair of flat sandals for a walk in the paddock with the couple’s dachshund Leo.
(Image credit: Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)
On Alexandra Saint Mleux: Saint Laurent Le 5 à 7 Small YSL Hobo Bag in Leopard-Print Calf Hair (£2290).
(Image credit: Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Courtesy of Saint Laurent)
On Hailey Bieber: Toteme Pony Hair Coat Leopard (£4110); Saint Laurent Bea Leopard-Print Tote Bag in Calf Hair and Leather (£4120); Adidas Sambas (£90)
Style Notes: With the clearly popular bag selling out, another similar style—the Bea, which is larger and more tote-like but with the same elegant and practical appeal—quickly took its place. The oversize open-top bag, which features the same golden hardware and leopard-printed calf-hair exterior as the Le 5 à 7, was spotted not once, not twice, but three times in late September, first on Bieber, then again on Harrier, and last, on Kate Moss.
Bieber paired her Bea with a matching Toteme leopard-print coat, black trousers, and red Adidas Sambas for a church service with Justin in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Harrier and Moss both debuted theirs in Paris—Harrier at Charles de Gaulle airport, where she was spotted alongside her fiancé, Sam Jarou, sporting the same ’80s-style leather Saint Laurent bomber jacket that Bella Hadid and Bieber can’t stop wearing as well as black yoga pants, a hoodie, and Adidas sneakers, and Moss outside of the Ritz Paris, styled with a black cashmere sweater, leggings, and knee-high boots.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Saint Laurent)
On Laura Harrier: Saint Laurent Bomber Jacket in Lambskin (£5035) and Bea Leopard-Print Tote Bag in Calf Hair and Leather (£4120).
(Image credit: Courtesy of Saint Laurent)
On Kate Moss: Saint Laurent Bea Leopard-Print Tote Bag in Calf Hair and Leather (£4120).
Bags aren’t the only category that’s taken a liking to leopard print. The outerwear, footwear, and skirt categories too have all seen recent success with the anti-quiet pattern, taking cues from iconic dressers who preferred it in the past, like Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Alexa Chung. Ferragamo, Prada, Toteme, and Michael Kors are but a few of the top fashion brands that have joined Saint Laurent in adding leopard into their autumn and winter collections, bringing it to its highest high of the decade.
Celebrate the triumphant return of leopard print (though, for some, it never left) by shopping the few Saint Laurent bags left in stock below. And if not Saint Laurent, I also included plenty of other, just-as-outfit-making designer leopard bags for you to consider.
Shop the Viral Saint Laurent Leopard Bags for Winter 2024:
Saint Laurent
Le 5 à 7 Small YSL Hobo Bag in Leopard-Print Calf Hair
Materials: Leather and leopard-printed natural/dyed calf hair
Origin: Italy
Features:
Adjustable shoulder straps
YSL logo strap
Interior, leashed zip pouch bag
Bronze hardware
Dimensions: 8.7″H x 9.1″W x 3.3″D
Saint Laurent
Bea YSL Leopard-Print Tote Bag in Calf Hair and Leather
Materials: Leather and leopard-printed natural/dyed calf hair
Origin: Italy
Features:
Shoulder straps
Center YSL logo strap
Interior, one zip pocket
Golden hardware
Dimensions: 7.1″H x 11″W x 19.7″D
Shop other Luxury Leopard-Print Bags:
Prada
Arqué Printed Leather Shoulder Bag
I wanted this in the in the brown leather. I needed it in leopard print.
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
Skull Leopard-Print Leather Top Handle Bag
Just add jeans and a white T-shirt.
GANNI
Leopard Mini Ganni Bou Bag
Just think of what a bag like this can do to any outfit.
CHLOÉ
Small Marcie Saddle Bag in Leopard-Print Leather
The Chloe Saddle bag you know and love now comes in leopard print.
Salvatore Ferragamo
Tote Bag
Where practical and stylish meet, this tote resides.
Prada
Printed Leather Mini Pouch
RABANNE
Pocket Leopard-Print Chainmail Shoulder Bag
This bag is even prettier and more ladylike in person. Trust me.
DOLCE&GABBANA
Sicily Leopard-Print Leather Glossed-Shoulder Bag
My newfound leopard-bag obsession is getting out of hand honestly.
AQUAZZURA
Twist Leopard-Print Suede Clutch
Jimmy Choo
Diamond Hobo/s
Consider me Jimmy Choo’s biggest fan.
