An It-bag’s popularity might fluctuate as much as the hemline’s propensity to creep up then drift back down. But some brands have built such a reputation in the field that while trends may wax and wane, their name will always carry an iron-clad cachet. Gucci is one such house, with a history of making handbags that spans a century and encompasses some of the most fashionable women in modern history (Princess Diana, for one).
An overview of the best Gucci bags to shop now
Gucci’s stable contains what you might consider household names when it comes to handbags – the Jackie, the Diana, the Dionysus – all of which are both synonymous with Gucci’s country of birth, Italy, and innovation in the world of craftsmanship. Keep scrolling to read about their illustrious heritage.
In this article: A history of the best Gucci handbags | The best styles to shop now
The best Gucci handbags in Vogue’s guide
- The Gucci Bamboo 1947: debuted in the late 1940s
- The Blondie: debuted in 2022
- The Gucci Horsebit 1955: debuted in the late 1950s
- The Jackie 1961: debuted in 2021, a reimagining of a style from 1961
- The Diana: debuted in 2022, a reimagining of a style from the 1980s
- The Marmont: debuted in 2016
- The Dionysus: debuted in 2015
- Giglio: debuted in 2025
- GG Emblem: debuted in 2025
The Gucci Bamboo 1947
Bamboo and Gucci are as interconnected as the interlocking double Gs in the maison’s monogram. Back in the late 1940s, in the aftermath of World War II, Italy experienced a shortage of leather and thus restrictions on how much could be used in the creation of handbags. And because necessity is the mother of invention, Guccio Gucci ingeniously thought to use a curved bamboo handle (applying heat to the raw material to create a curved U-shape) in a patented technology that has stood the test of time. Throughout Gucci’s history, creative directors from Tom Ford to Frida Giannini to Alessandro Michele have all utilised bamboo in the design of ready-to-wear and leather goods. The current iteration of the iconic bag, now dubbed the Gucci Bamboo 1947, has changed little since its inception. Wonderfully logo-free, polished but not prissy, the bag comes in medium, small, and mini sizes in a variety of polished leather, canvas monogram, and exotic skins.
The Blondie
In addition to lots of L.O.V.E, Gucci’s Love Parade runway show was filled with accessory goodies, including the Blondie – an understated leather flap bag with a removable strap (there’s a glinty gold chain, a strip web trim, or a strapless option). There’s little embellishment or bedazzlement, save for an eye-catching Gucci logo that dates back to a logo filed in a patent by Gucci in 1971 – the interlocking G-motif featured a pair of the letters with one inverted and flipped on its head. The Blondie represented yet another cleverly modern homage payment by Gucci’s then-creative director Alessandro Michele to the historic house.
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Gucci Horsebit 1955
As the legend goes, glinty horsebit hardware entered Gucci’s fashionable oeuvre in 1953. It was Aldo Gucci – recognising that shoppers liked a side of history with their handbags – who perpetuated the myth that the Gucci family had once been saddle-makers to nobility. Aldo leaned into the equine concept, and under his direction, top-stitching reminiscent of that on saddles adorned handbags; and green and red stripes seen on girth straps became a signature Gucci element, as did the Gucci horsebit. Aldo even went so far as to replace the bellhop – a nod to Guccio’s early job – in the Gucci crest with a knight in armour. Since the horsebit appeared on a handbag in 1955, that elegant hardware has become as recognisable as Chanel’s double Cs. Tom Ford, Alessandra Facchinetti, Frida Giannini and Alessandro Michele all incorporated the horsebit into their designs. The reprised Gucci Horsebit 1955 bag comes in various shapes (tote, satchel, shoulder bag), all unified by the instantly identifiable double-D rings. After all, there’s no need for a Gucci logo when its signature hardware is present.
The Jackie 1961
Like the enduring allure of the woman it’s named after, the Jackie is a bag that will never go out of style. In 1961, Gucci introduced a hobo-style bag that caught the eye of Jackie Kennedy, whose husband so famously loved Gucci’s loafer moccasins. It’s said that upon seeing a paparazzi image of Jackie Kennedy with the bag (then called the Fifties Constance), the Gucci family swiftly christened it the Jackie. The classic hobo-shape has seen many iterations under the house’s creative directors, staying true to the bag’s crescent shape and signature closure.
The Diana
In the late 1990s, one often saw Princess Diana headed to-and-fro with a bamboo-handled Gucci bag. Hers was in putty-coloured suede, and even when it accessorised her biker shorts and sweatshirts on trips to the gym, she made it look divine. As mentioned above, bamboo-handled bags have been a part of the Gucci repertoire since the very beginning, and the style has never really left the house. On Thursday 1 July 2021 – what would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday – Michele gave us The Diana Bag, a bamboo-handled tote much like the version worn by the Princess. On this bag, he stamped the logo with the double Gs facing in the same direction (Michele’s remix of the Gucci monogram is one of many celebrated interventions he’s made at the house). Because it wouldn’t be Michele’s without a madcap flourish, he added a neon-coloured elastic strap. The latter is a playful, removable touch that references the elastic bands Gucci uses to help its bamboo keep its shape.
The Marmont
Not long into his tenure as Gucci’s creative director, Michele gave us the Marmont bags with a chain crossbody strap as the signature style. They debuted on the 2016 autumn runways, capturing everything Michele intended to bottle up and sell in bag form: the untethered bohemian spirit of the ’70s and the hush-hush glamour of the Château Marmont. On the bag, Michele introduced his flipped Gucci logo, festooning a semi-puffed, chevron-style quilted pattern of leather and velvets in gemstone hues. The Marmont collection also includes totes, backpacks, and bucket bags, and sometimes the hardware is studded with pearls. No matter which you choose, you can’t go wrong.
The Dionysus
No bag better encapsulates the Greek chic aesthetic of modern-day Gucci than Michele’s first bag for the brand, The Dionysus. The crossbody bag features a double flap-shape in Gucci’s coated canvas textile, and it’s closed with U-shaped hardware that can be traced back to Gucci’s autumn 2015 ready-to-wear collection. (With The Dionysus, Michele added a new signature piece to the Gucci vocabulary: yes, we know all about the horsebit, but how about some snakes?) Dionysus is the god of agriculture, wine, and revelry, and – befitting Michele’s more-is-more aesthetic code – the bag that takes his name is decorated with fantastical jungly embroideries, eclectic bolts, and patchworked with the kind of decals you might find on a Girl Scout’s vest. Like a Greek deity, The Dionysus bag is widely worshipped, and has maintained its It-bag status since its introduction.
The Giglio debuted at the house’s Cruise 2026 collection in Florence – where the lily (giglio in Italian) has been a historical symbol for centuries. The curvaceous lines and logo-ed canvas exterior chimed brilliantly with the clothing, that ranged from pussy-bow lace blouses paired with crushed-velvet pants to whip-smart jacquard pencil skirts. Very much infused with archival codes, and featuring an old-world personality that brings to mind fabulously retro glamour, it’s a handbag that delivers practicality as well as aesthetic punch. With a width of 60cm, it boasts enough room for many of your technological requirements – including a tablet, a smartphone and AirPods – while also featuring a hidden magnetic closure for on-the-go safely and a detachable pouch. With two denim iterations, as well as moody blue suede, it’s made to be an everyday companion.
Gucci is home to several classic shoulder bags – and one of the most recent additions is the GG Emblem, which arrived on the scene for autumn/winter 2025. Reinterpreting the brand’s history of elegance, it marries craftsmanship with an undeniable sense of cool with its logoed exterior and heavy chain strap, plus a silhouette that’s designed to fit snugly under the arm for people with places to go. (The GG Emblem family also includes top-handle bags, buckets and totes, with shades including the everyday and the ever-so-slightly more whimsical.)
This was a collection put together in the interim before the arrival of a new creative director after a 24-month tenure by Sabato De Sarno. And while it might have been something of a stop-gap ahead of the arrival of its next maestro, Demna, the collection’s accessories were, as usual, bang on the money. The GG Emblem was no exception, prioritising a sense of fun with its clip for bag charms, keys or trinkets, as well as its strap that’s like jewellery for your bag.
A history of the best Gucci handbags
In 1897, a man named Guccio Gucci left his native Florence for London, where he worked at the tony Savoy Hotel as a bellboy. Handling the luggage of the ritzy clientele there gave him the education he needed to return to Italy and produce his very own line of travel-centric leather goods. The year was 1921 when Guccio finally opened the doors to his boutique on Florence’s Via della Vigna Nuova, selling imported suitcases in addition to goods handcrafted by local artisans. It didn’t take long for customers to latch onto Guccio’s wares, and soon after that, Gucci became an outright sensation.
A trade embargo placed on Italy during Mussolini’s rule meant that materials – leather in particular – were scarce. So, Guccio and his sons Aldo, Vasco, and Rodolfo (all now part of the family business) had to get creative, making wicker, raffia, and wood Gucci signatures in addition to cuoio grasso, an incredibly smooth veal calf leather. (Nearby, the Florentine Salvatore Ferragamo was also making do with what was available with his cork-heel creations.) At around the same time, Gucci also developed a woven hemp textile with a diamond pattern, a precursor to the current double-G monogram.
Around 1947, Gucci made fashion history with its bamboo-handled bag, a structured little purse adorned with a bamboo handle bent by the heat of a flame. By 1953, Ingrid Bergman was carrying a variation in the film Viaggio in Italia, setting off Hollywood’s love affair with Gucci. Reported visitors to Gucci’s Florence shop included then-Princess Elizabeth (before her ascent to the British throne), Eleanor Roosevelt, and Elizabeth Taylor. A stint as an actor meant that Rodolfo would also bring in his own picture-making friends like Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, and Sophia Loren.
By the 1950s, when la dolce vita was in full swing in Rome, and Manhattan was a playground for monied movers and shakers, Gucci was outfitting and accessorising it all. Over the next two decades, Gucci opened up shops just about everywhere worth being seen. One day, at the Milan outpost, Grace Kelly walked in and got a silk scarf decorated with a feminine floral pattern (dubbed the Flora, which remains a house code to this day); on another, Jackie Kennedy Onassis picked out a hobo bag. The latter was recently reissued by Alessandro Michele, as were the bamboo-handled Diana bag and the Gucci Attache bag. Michele was also responsible for the Dionysus and the Marmont – two bags that have maintained their It-bag status years after their debuts. Sabato De Sarno introduced several bags during his tenure, including crystal-swathed Jackies and patent takes on the Bamboo 1947 top-handle, while Demna explored fresh takes on the Gucci Bamboo 1947 in his spring/summer 2026 debut collection. Time will tell what bag he’ll release next – or which he’ll pluck from the archive for inspiration.