What’s in Rotation? The Bags Music’s Biggest Names Carry

On stage, almost every detail has a role. The costume, the lighting, the choreography and the jewellery contribute to the performance.

Away from it, a handbag offers another glimpse of an artist’s style. It might be the generous carryall taken through an airport, a vintage find brought out for dinner or a compact shoulder bag that finishes a familiar outfit.

Some artists return to particular designs. Others enjoy an expansive rotation. Occasionally, their connection with a bag becomes part of a song or inspires a design of its own.

But what makes something a favourite? A photograph tells us what someone carried. Repeated appearances suggest a preference. An artist speaking about her own bag gives us something more.

Rihanna: the pleasure of a rare find

Rihanna’s handbag collection rewards a closer look. Alongside familiar luxury names are pieces distinguished by unusual materials, artist collaborations and archive details.

Her documented vintage collection includes a Louis Vuitton x Stephen Sprouse Alma and a Fendi Spy with a beaded squirrel design. These are bags with character before an outfit is even assembled.

There is also evidence of a repeat favourite. Rihanna was first photographed with the Louis Vuitton x Frank Gehry Twisted Box in 2014 and returned to it frequently over the following years. Its distorted trunk shape makes it a particularly distinctive choice.

The appeal of her approach is the specificity. A bag can be recognisable without being the version everyone else carries.

Dua Lipa: a Birkin with a working life

Dua Lipa’s Birkin offers one of the clearest examples of an artist showing how she actually uses a bag.

In her filmed bag tour, the contents included books, hot sauce and wired headphones. Charms collected on trips to Japan and India decorated the exterior. The impression was of a carryall accumulating the details of a busy life.

The Birkin is a documented part of her routine, though her rotation extends further. She also appeared in the Chanel 25 campaign, associating her with a very different shape.

What feels personal is the way she treats the bag. Books, tangled cables and souvenirs give it a story that a pristine product photograph cannot.

Beyoncé: a bag that made it into the music

Beyoncé’s connection with Telfar goes beyond a photographed outfit. She carried a white Telfar Shopping Bag in 2021, then referenced the label on “Summer Renaissance” the following year.

That gives us both a personal appearance and a musical endorsement. It also places a contemporary label alongside the established luxury houses associated with her wardrobe.

Here, the bag becomes part of the artist’s cultural language. Its significance extends beyond how it looks with an outfit.

Jennie: Chanel with a casual rhythm

Blackpink's Jennie has a strong association with Chanel, including her role alongside Dua Lipa in the Chanel 25 campaign.

She has also been photographed carrying the larger Chanel 25 outside the campaign imagery. Its generous, slouchy shape offers a different expression from the more structured bags often associated with the house.

It is a visible part of her rotation, and the styling is worth noticing. A Chanel bag does not require a formal outfit to make sense. Scale and softness can give familiar house details a more relaxed attitude.

Rosé: Saint Laurent’s curved shoulder shape

Rosé from Blackpink has been photographed carrying Saint Laurent’s revived Mombasa in Seoul. The bag’s curved body and distinctive handle give it a strong silhouette without relying on elaborate decoration.

Its shape is the interesting detail. A curved, generous shoulder bag creates a different mood from a precise top handle, even in the same colour.

This is a documented appearance rather than evidence of a long-term favourite, but it offers a clear styling reference for anyone drawn to softer proportions.

Charli xcx: the bag as part of the attitude

Charli xcx has been photographed travelling with a Balenciaga Le City, paired with pedal pushers and Maison Margiela Tabi flats.

The combination captures the appeal of recognisable pieces worn with an individual edge. The City’s relaxed shape complements the outfit without making it feel overly coordinated.

For readers who like a bag with a slightly undone character, this is useful inspiration. Soft leather and an easy silhouette can feel entirely at home among more directional choices.

Taylor Swift: a varied rotation

Taylor Swift’s documented bag choices span different houses and moods. Earlier coverage recorded Gucci hobos and Louis Vuitton totes, while a New York dinner outing in October 2024 saw her carrying a Dior Saddle with a camel coat and Gucci corset top.

The evidence points to variety rather than one definitive favourite.

Her Saddle styling is a useful reference because the bag brings an unmistakable shape to familiar pieces. A distinctive handbag can give a coat-and-top combination its point of interest.

Miley Cyrus: a classic in the spotlight

At the 2024 Grammy Awards, Miley Cyrus paired a custom Gucci look with a Gucci Bamboo 1947 bag. Its distinctive handle brought a recognisable house signature into a major music moment.

The appearance reflects styling for an occasion rather than an everyday preference. What makes it interesting is the contrast.

A classic handbag can hold its own alongside performance dressing, offering a clear shape amid the glamour.

Lana Del Rey: when the artist inspires the bag

Lana Del Rey’s relationship with Mulberry became part of the brand’s design history. In 2012, the house introduced the Del Rey, a handbag inspired by the singer’s retro style.

This adds another dimension to the relationship between music and fashion. An artist’s visual identity can influence a handbag before anyone carries it.

The namesake design is part of that history, though it does not establish which bag she reaches for most often today.

Jane Birkin: the original personal approach

No story about musicians and handbags feels complete without Jane Birkin.

The singer and actor was closely associated with a wicker basket before her name became attached to one of fashion’s most famous leather bags. Photographs documented her carrying the basket while travelling with Serge Gainsbourg.

Hermès traces the Birkin’s origin to her conversation with Jean-Louis Dumas about needing a bag suited to life as a young mother. Practicality was part of its story from the beginning.

That is perhaps the most enduring connection between an artist and a handbag: a design shaped around the things she needed to carry.

What makes a bag a favourite?

The strongest evidence is often repetition. A bag appears with different clothes, in different settings, and continues to be used after its initial moment of attention.

Campaigns introduce us to designs. Street photographs show how they are styled. A personal bag tour reveals something about their role.

For our own wardrobes, the useful question is what draws us to the choice. Rihanna’s archive finds might encourage us to explore vintage. Dua’s carryall might prompt us to revisit a bag we have been saving. Jennie’s styling might make a polished design feel easier to wear casually.

The inspiration becomes more interesting when it fits into our own lives.

Music / Personal Style / Celebrity Bags / Collections / Styling