Denim Bags Are the Nostalgic Y2K Bag Trend to Reconsider

Your strongest reference for the denim bag trend likely comes from the early aughts: Britney Spears wearing a denim-on-denim outfit (down to her purse) on the 2001 American Music Awards red carpet or Paris Hilton carrying her chihuahua in a light-wash Louis Vuitton logo tote. Maybe a younger you comes to mind, shuffling around the mall in low-rise jeans with a matching Coach jean bag tucked under your elbow.

But 2024 offers a new narrative for bags done in denim. Bottega Veneta weaves luxe leather with dark-wash denim for all-American Andiamo totes and makes jeans and Jodie bags that look like chic chambray shirts tied around the wrist. Style tastemakers use Loewe’s stone-washed and slouchy Squeeze as a corporate-casual work bag and rely on Ganni’s denim shopper for their weekend errands. Or, if you’re Blake Lively, a quilted denim Chanel crossbody is the finishing touch to your fall outfit formula.

Hermés has even granted the denim trend its coveted co-sign by relaunching its east-west Shoulder Birkin in dark indigo. Though a bag from the 2024 limited edition drop will run you upwards of $13,000—if you’re fortunate enough to find one still in stock on a luxury reseller.

As Kim Bickle, the site merchandising manager at Fashionphile, sees it, “Today’s denim bags represent a much more refined take compared to the early 2000s fashion trend.” Unlike the bags beloved by the early-aughts It girls—which were often bedazzled and logo-ifed for maximum impact—2024’s coasts much more under the radar.

Bickle says the refined rebrand of denim bags comes down to designers championing craft over flash in today’s fashion landscape. “Now, the emphasis is on eco-friendly materials and functionality,” she says. “They’re reimagining denim in a more subtle and artisanal way, with bags that work seamlessly for modern, everyday use while still carrying that touch of heritage and luxury.”

You’ll find traces of this functional ethos throughout the 2025 denim trends; as seen on the spring runways, Acne Studios’ mult-pocket denim duffels are smart and durable weekender bags, while Diesel’s distressed shoulder bags made from 57 percent regenerative, organic, or recycled cotton denim are suitable for nights spent on the dance floor. Fendi also flexed its fondness for the material, showing floral embroidered and crystal-covered flap bags to join its existing lineup of denim buckets.

However, you can’t totally remove the nostalgia factor with a trend as evocative as denim bags—it would be like trying to remove the’ 70s-ness from a pair of corduroy bellbottoms or orange-tinted aviators.