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A moustachioed Jacob Elordi broke a certain corner of the internet this weekend after sitting on a bunny-shaped bean bag while carrying a red tote with a tiny (leather) dog attached to it. Let’s unpack that for those who weren’t glued to Bottega Veneta’s E.T.-inspired spring 2025 show. Elordi, who was announced as a brand ambassador in May, chose a tomato-colored Andiamo carry-all to soup up his speckled cardi and white basics for the presentation. But his roguish Aussie charm (note that ever-so slightly off-kilter neck chain) was overshadowed by the teeny-tiny pet clipped to his intrecciato. Even seatmate A$AP Rocky’s yet-to-be-launched color-pop Sardine handbag failed to get a look in (ditto his chicken-shaped couch).
Elordi’s “John John” lanyard reflects a rising trend for bag charms across the board. With leather goods prices continuing to climb, despite a recession, keyrings have become the easiest entry point into a luxury label’s world. (An Andiamo tote, for example, costs upwards of $5,000, but that pretty pooch clip-on retails for $650.) And while the Saltburn star’s petite accessory looks neat in its singular position, trinkets follow the messy-bag diktat decreed by Miuccia Prada for spring 2024. The vibe among editors, in particular, is to attach fistfuls of jangling keepsakes to bag handles to show off the spoils of recent adventures (kitsch souvenir merch is king) and to announce your arrival (consider that jangle your own personal theme tune.)
In addition to Mrs. Prada, the instigators of this playful accessory look are as follows: Balenciaga (“Fashion should be fun!” believes Demna), Coach (Stuart Vevers is betting big on “I Love NYC” merch) and even Londoner Stefan Cooke, who revamped Mulberry’s prim and proper totes with tacky-cool bits and bobs, including–bizarrely–foam fingers. “It’s a way to interact with fashion in a personal way,” content creator and charm aficionado Heather Hurst recently told Vogue Business, while flagging that individual curation is key. “When it becomes something that can be mass acquired, that’s when it gets into a place of being antithetical to the original purpose of the trend.”
Make not like Miu Miu girl Gigi Hadid, who clips climbing cables, beads and hearts to her yellow Arcadie, or indeed Elordi with his canine companion, but original bohemian style muse Jane Birkin, who loved to attach tokens from far-flung travels and even stickers onto her namesake Hermès tote. Like the friendship bracelet movement, you can certainly buy your way into this trend, but authenticity matters more than any brand logo.
