Fashion

Behind the names of these famous bags are even more famous women

By Hanna Oonincx | #!31Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:38 +0200+02:003831#31Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:38 +0200+02:00-11Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202631 15am31am-31Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:38 +0200+02:0011Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam2026312026Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:38 +02000011005amFriday=9#!31Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:38 +0200+02:00Europe\/Amsterdam5#05-15-2026#!31Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:38 +0200+02:003831#\/31Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:38 +0200+02:00-11Europe\/Amsterdam3131Europe\/Amsterdam202631#!31Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:38 +0200+02:00Europe\/Amsterdam5#

The Birkin Bag has meanwhile become more of a status symbol than a bag, but it was once designed to solve a very practical problem for Jane Birkin. She was a singer, actress, and – when she boarded a flight from Paris to London in 1984 – just a new mother. During the flight, she complained to her fellow passenger that no bag was big enough for everything she had to carry every day. She wanted a fashionable diaper bag like the Hermès Kelly, but one that couldn't open while she was wearing it. She was talking to the right person, as it turned out to be none other than Jean-Louis Dumas, the CEO of Hèrmes. He took a spit bag out of the plane, started sketching, and thus created the first idea for what would later become one of the most famous handbags ever. You probably already knew this worldly story, but Jane Birkin was far from the only woman to lend her name to a designer bag. Here are four more famous bags with equally good backstories.

Hermès Kelly

The Hermès Kelly Bag, like the Birkin, once solved a very specific problem. In 1956, actress, soon-to-be mother, and meanwhile princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly used the bag to shield her pregnant belly from paparazzi. At that time, the design was still simply called the Sac à Dépêches, a model that Hermès had been producing for almost twenty years. But after Grace appeared with it on the cover of LIFE Magazine, the image went around the world. The association became so great that Hermès eventually officially renamed the bag to the Kelly.

Lady Dior

The Lady Dior also didn't immediately get the name we know her by today. When Christian Dior originally released the bag, it was still called the Chouchou, French for favorite. And it absolutely became a favorite, especially with Diana, Princess of Wales. Princess Diana was spotted with the bag so often that her nickname “Lady Di” slowly began to merge with Dior. After briefly having the name Princesse, the model officially became known as Lady Dior, and grew into one of the most recognizable handbags ever.

Gucci Jackie

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis may not have had a crown, but she had the influence of royalty. Originally, the bag was called the Constance, until Jackie fell completely in love with it. Three years after the launch of the model, she walked into a Gucci boutique in 1964 and left with six copies of the crescent-shaped bag. After that visit, she was hardly ever photographed without the bag on her arm. It didn't take long before the bag got the Gucci Jackie name we know today.

Louis Vuitton SC

With the Louis Vuitton SC Bag, the name stands for the initials of the woman behind the design: Sofia Coppola. In 2009, the Oscar-winning director and fashion lover visited the historic workshops of Louis Vuitton in Asnières, just outside Paris, with the idea of having a personalized bag made. As one does. But inspired by classic Vuitton models like the Speedy and Keepall, Coppola eventually began designing her own dream bag. The result was the nonchalant SC Bag.

No shame in wearing the same bag, then. Maybe you'll soon find yourself among this list of princesses, first ladies, and filmmakers.