Bag Charms Are Back: This Noughties Accessory Has Returned – And It’s Better Than Ever

It's happening. The accessory for your accessory is back, and it's taken centre stage on our TikTok pages, on the catwalk, and now - in your shopping cart. The infamous bag charm is rearing its Y2K head, and we're completely, well, charmed.

Allow us to take you back to Fendi AW 2013, when Karl Lagerfeld sent models down the runway with a fuzzy charm (the Fendi monster) dangling from leather goods, adding a touch of playfulness to an otherwise demure designer bag. After that, Karlito was born, a fuzzy imitation of Lagerfeld himself, first debuted by Cara Delevigne during Milan’s AW 2015 show, an accessory that was soon waitlisted, sending fans into a frenzy. Now, nearly a decade later, the bag charm is showing signs of return.

For spring/summer 2024, Miu Miu embellished its bags with monogrammed chains and colourful cables. Elsewhere, Balenciaga took things a step further by decorating bags with keys, lockets and chains, injecting a sense of playfulness into the brand's famously distressed accessories.

Beyond the runway, Dua Lipa has been spotted wearing the trend more than once, adding baubles and charms to her Hermès Birkin.

In fact, most would agree that it started with the Birkin. Jane Birkin, that is. The American actress, who inspired the design of her namesake bag, was known to decorate her own with ribbons, jewellery and key chains. Putting a new spin on the meaning of luxury, Birkin managed to make a £10,000 designer bag appear entirely individual and lived in. From then, the term 'Jane Birkification' was born.

Gen Z's re-discovery of the bag charm hardly comes as a surprise. With the rise of DIY, and a growing appreciation for upcycling, the re-emergence of the bag charm is emblematic of the young generation's desire to bring individuality into everything, differentiating themselves from the collective through their style, even more so than generations gone past. And it's working.

Shop our favourite bag charms below.

SHOP: The Best Bag Charms

Marina Avraam is the Deputy Commercial Content Editor for Grazia. Hobbies include (but not limited to) finding the best designer dupes, buying every iteration of the adidas gazelles and listening to celeb podcasts every hour of every day.