First imagined in the late 1990s, at the height of fashion’s minimalist era, the Baguette was deliberately small and simple enough to sit tucked beneath the arm. Yet what happened on its surface was anything but restrained. Colour, embellishments, experimental materials and intricate craftsmanship turned the compact silhouette into something instantly recognisable, setting it apart from the clean monochromatic aesthetic surrounding it.
Nearly three decades later, that same spirit of individuality is at the centre of a new FENDI campaign that brings together personalities from across film, music, fashion and popular culture.
Photographed by Bibi Borthwick, the campaign stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Bang Chan, Emma D’Arcy, Song Yuqi, Sophie Thatcher, Jessica Alba, Ren Meguro, Iris Law, Tecla Insolia and MINA. Rather than presenting the Baguette as a single fixed icon, each face appears alongside the version they feel represents them in that particular moment.
Set to Addison Rae’s “Fame is a Gun”, the images focus on spontaneity and personality. Borthwick created an environment in which the cast could move naturally, allowing their individual relationship with the bag to become part of the portrait rather than simply placing the accessory at the centre of a traditional campaign.
It is a fitting approach for a bag whose cultural relevance has always been closely connected to the personalities carrying it.
No relationship is more famous than that between the Baguette and Sarah Jessica Parker. One line from Sex and the City transformed the bag into part of television history: “It’s not a bag, it’s a Baguette.” FENDI returns to the phrase for the campaign, alongside more personal declarations from its cast, from “it’s my attitude” and “it’s controlled chaos” to “it’s family” and “it’s history.”
Parker’s appearance brings the Baguette’s history full circle, but the wider cast speaks to how far its influence has travelled.
There is Bang Chan, artist, producer and leader of Stray Kids, alongside K-pop figures Song Yuqi and MINA of TWICE. Film and television are represented through actors including Emma D’Arcy, known for House of the Dragon, Sophie Thatcher, Jessica Alba and Italian actor Tecla Insolia, while Iris Law brings another generation of fashion into the conversation. Japanese actor and Snow Man member Ren Meguro completes a cast built around distinctly different creative identities.
The Baguette may have originated from a specific moment in Italian fashion, but its longevity has depended on its ability to be continually reinterpreted by the person wearing it. One silhouette can be glamorous, playful, subversive, nostalgic or understated depending on its material, colour and owner.
For Fall/Winter 2026-27, the bag returns to its original silhouette and style code (26424), under the direction of Maria Grazia Chiuri for her first collection at FENDI.
This return to the original form is less about nostalgia than recognising what made the Baguette resonate in the first place. Its proportions remain compact. Its identity remains unmistakable. What changes is the person holding it.
And perhaps that is why, almost thirty years later, the famous distinction still works. It was never really just a bag. It was a way of saying something about yourself.
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