The First It Bag of 2026 Has Arrived, and Celebs in Paris, NYC, and Seoul Are Already Carrying It
Picture this: The year is 2002, and you just saw Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicole Richie carrying a particular handbag that's unlike anything you've seen before. You look into how to secure one for yourself only to find that the wait list is miles long. In the early aughts, the YSL Mombasa Bag with an instantly recognizable horn-shaped handle wasn't just a popular carryall. It was arguably the designer bag, and everyone relevant seemed to own one, from A-list faces in Hollywood to fashion editors in downtown Manhattan.
This week, Saint Laurent made the exciting move to reissue the beloved shoulder-bag silhouette complete with a campaign starring Bella Hadid. In the images, Hadid poses with a large version of the bag in dark leather and is styled in a funnel-neck jacket and lace-trim shorts. Just days later, the reissued bags have shown up on the arms of It girls the world over—Hadid carrying a glossy black version in NYC, Korean singer Rosé slinging one over her shoulder in Seoul, and model Kiko Mizuhara spotted with a chestnut-brown style in Paris. We may only be a few weeks into 2026, but the modern Mombasa is already emerging as a year-defining It bag.
Released in 2002 during Tom Ford's tenure, the Mombasa helped shape the house's robust accessories collection, and Cathy Horyn reported that the category accounted for 26% of sales in the wake of the bag's launch. Now, the brand has rereleased the iconic handbag in small, medium, and large sizes and a tight edit of colors—black, dark brown, burgundy, and one pony-hair finish. I can all but guarantee it will become the style to own in 2026.
WHO: Bella Hadid
WHERE: New York
WHO: Rosé
WHERE: Seoul
WHO: Anja Rubik
WHERE: Cape Town
WHO: Kiko Mizuhara
WHERE: Paris
Shop the Saint Laurent Mombasa Bag
