The Fendi Baguette® holds your phone, wallet, keys, and lip gloss. But do you know what else it holds? Nearly three decades of fashion history. As Who What Wear celebrates its 20th anniversary, we've been thinking about the pieces that have lasted just as long, and few bags have had quite as many lives as the Baguette®. We've seen it on our television screens, under the arms of some of the most photographed women in fashion, and all over our social feeds. And just like that (IYKYK), the bag that defined the late '90s and early 2000s has become the vintage piece fashion people hunt for most.
Silvia Venturini Fendi introduced the Baguette® in 1997, naming the small shoulder bag after the way the French tuck their baguettes under their arms. The design itself—an elongated silhouette with a short shoulder strap, a front flap, and the signature FF clasp—is pretty straightforward, but that's exactly what makes it so recognizable and easy for Fendi to build on. Minimalism was dominating fashion at the time, but the Baguette® offered something a little more playful without overcomplicating the formula.
Then came the television debut of the Baguette®. A certain fictional New York columnist famously made the Baguette® part of her late-'90s and early-aughts wardrobe, transforming the shoulder bag into more than an accessory. Soon, spotting a Baguette® became almost as fun as carrying one. They appeared on television, in films, on celebrities, and eventually in social media street-style images. The bag wasn't only recognizable; it was collectible.
A big reason why the Baguette® has lasted so long is that hundreds of interpretations have been created since 1997. We've not only seen it in leather, animal print, and with sequins, but Fendi even introduced a roomier version in the late '90s—the Mamma Baguette®. Nearly 30 years later, people are still finding new versions to obsess over, whether they're brand new or pulled from a vintage rack. In 1997, no one knew what was ahead for the Fendi Baguette®—who knows which of your bags will be the one everyone wants 30 years from now?
