The Winners of the Phoebe Philo Bag Revival

Millennials who remember the reign of Chloé’s Paddington bag may be experiencing some déjà vu.

Two decades after the oversized, padlock-adorned tote became one of the defining accessories of the 2000s, immortalised on the arms of it-girls like Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie and Megan Fox, the Paddington is once again front and centre in Chloé boutiques and on the brand’s website, where it has a dedicated page. True to its it-girl association, the new campaign features the omnipresent Kendall Jenner, British actress Aimee Lou Wood and Anna from K-Pop group Meovv.

The bag’s revival at Chloé is part of a broader wave of nostalgia-fuelled relaunches across luxury, where the archives of the 2000s are being mined as luxury brands, amidst years of creative stagnation, search for guaranteed hits. Some key examples of this archival mining come from one designer in particular: Phoebe Philo.

As creative director at Chloé from 2001 to 2006, she created the Paddington and defined the maison’s early noughties aesthetic, blending boho-feminine charm with nonchalant cool. Then, at the creative helm of Celine from 2008 to 2017, Philo introduced the Luggage bags that are now back in stores as the “New Luggage,” and can be seen draped on arms of Paris Fashion Weeks attendees or generating buzz on Reddit and Youtube.

Other brands never associated with Philo are also following her lead. The Paddington’s slouchy rectangular shape is one of the silhouettes of this season, with similar forms seen in Miu Miu’s Aventurine and McQueen’s Farringdon bag. High street brands from Paris to London have produced their own versions of the it-shape.

One person who doesn’t seem to be benefiting, however, is Philo herself. When she launched her eponymous label in 2023, she chose a direct-to-consumer model with limited distribution, small runs and pared-back designs that continued her Celine-era language of minimalism. The debut was greeted with anticipation, but commercial traction appears modest. Compared with her Chloé and Celine hits, bags under the Philo label still lack the viral appeal to ignite a frenzy — at least on resale platforms.

One reason is the brand’s youth, which doesn’t allow for much supply on resale. “It’s a bit of a young brand for the platform,” said Vestaire Collective Co-Founder Sophie Hersan, noting Phoebe Philo’s “Drive” bag performs “quite well.” It sells for about one-third of its retail price on Vestiaire, in line with the discount common for less desirable bags across the secondhand market.

“From what I’m seeing in the resale market, vintage Phoebe Philo designs are performing much better than her contemporary designs,” said Hanushka Toni, founder of luxury resale platform Sellier. “These revivals don’t move the needle for her current label. There’s no spillover effect.”

All smiles at Chloé, Celine and Resellers

According to sales staff at various Chloé stores in Paris, the Paddington reissue is performing strongly across demographics. Long-time customers nostalgic for the mid-2000s are repurchasing this new version, which has been made lighter, with a padlock that is now decorative and fully removable. A small version with a crossbody strap has been newly introduced as well.

Gen Z, which many luxury brands have struggled to connect with, make up a good chunk of the Paddington clientele, too. “It’s doing really well with both groups,” one associate at Chloé Printemps said. “The shape itself is on point — it’s the shape of the season.”

At Chloé’s SoHo store in New York, staff described similar dynamics. The Paddington was the centrepiece of the window display, attracting steady interest from consumers seeking a vintage look in an era of growing scepticism toward overtly new luxury.

“There’s a nostalgia mindset among young generations,” said Hersan, who added that the platform’s vintage catalogue — defined as items over 20 years old – has grown over 220 percent over the past five years. “People want to invest today in pieces that tell stories and are timeless, less focused on newness. The trend is also slowly moving from minimalism to maximalism. I would say we are shifting towards something timeless and bolder.”

Bold certainly describes the flashy hardware on the Paddington, and that blend of nostalgia and novelty is paying off. Aside from its current retail success at Chloé, on Vestiaire Collective, sales of the Paddington were up threefold between April 2024 and April 2025, with searches for the bag up 63 percent this month compared to last month.

On Sellier, prices for vintage Paddingtons have jumped from £400 ($540) to £950 on average, while new Paddingtons retail for around £2,000. When a bag sells for close to half its retail value secondhand, it’s considered in high demand — very few bags, like the Hermès Birkin — resell close to their original value. “You used to be able to pick up a Paddington for next to nothing,” said Toni. “Now they’ve shot up in value. But these things move quickly — the moment of revival is also the peak of resale.”

Philo’s Luggage tote, which current Celine designer Michael Rider brought back during the brand’s July runway show, is also gaining momentum. When Philo introduced the bag at Celine in 2009, its structured silhouette and signature straight-lipped zipper stood apart from the sea of hardware- and logo-heavy bags and made it one of the most recognisable bags of the 2010s. Rider’s new versions, which come in flat cabas and rectangular shapes and feature smiley-face zippers, instantly sparked online buzz, with searches for the Phantom on Vestiaire Collective rising by 700 percent after the runway debut.

Resale prices haven’t seen a similar surge, reflecting the sheer volume of the bag’s production during Philo’s tenure. “There’s still a lot of supply out there,” Toni notes. “That’s why we haven’t seen the kind of price spike the Paddington has had.”

Still, resale analytics firm Truss said sales across key global resale sites of Celine Luggage bags rose by 39 percent in July — when Rider reintroduced the bag on the runway — compared to sales the month prior, in June.

Other Celine models like the Trapeze surged, too, suggesting a potential spillover effect for old brand favourites.

“Everything Phoebe touches has desirability,” said Hersan.

So What About Philo?

The reality for designers employed by a brand is that their creations ultimately belong to the maison they were created for, despite ongoing debates about intellectual property questioning this notion. Last month, Philo’s successor at Celine, Hedi Slimane, called out the brand for copying his photographic style in recent campaign imagery.

No matter which designer contributed to it, a brand’s archive is a key in creating a sense of heritage and reinforcing brand identity. On the business side, evergreen bags often make up the cornerstone of a maison’s sales, like the Hermès’ Birkin or Chanel’s 2.55.

Balancing supply, demand and reissues of key designs is a delicate act. Brands must extract cultural and commercial value without overexposing them, as Nike’s Jordan line shows, where oversaturation has eroded hype and its share of sales has slipped.

The fashion cycle moves faster today than it did in the early noughts, meaning revivals don’t last long. For those looking to sell a revived bag, the key is to act fast.

“The moment a bag is reissued is often the best time to sell it,” said Toni. “Trends don’t sustain the way they did in the 2000s. What was hot last season can sit unsold today.”

At Vestiaire, the positive effect can last for around two years, though peak pricing is a narrow window. “If you don’t jump into the Paddington trend now, next year would be a good moment to purchase it at a better price,” Hersan said.