The timelessness of kisslock bags, as seen on Jackie Kennedy and now, Billie Eilish

Originating in the early 20th century, the top-handle frame bag has a metal “twist and lock” closure of two beads that slip around each other in a sort of “kiss”. Often carried on a chain, though it can also be a coin purse, the bag has had many iterations through history. It has also served as a potent source of inspiration for designers from Phoebe Philo at Celine to Jil Sander.

The style, elegant and ladylike, was carried by the patron saint of refinement, Jackie Kennedy. A gold kisslock purse, owned by the former first lady and ultimate style icon, was said to have been included on a table of her personal artefacts for friends to pick through when she left the White House.

One of the most influential agitators for the return of the kisslock bag is Stuart Vevers, the long-time creative director of Coach. Vevers played with a 1969 archival design by the brand’s first lead designer, Bonnie Cashin, at Coach’s spring/summer 2025 show in New York, and frankly it drove everyone wild. The since sold-out Large Kisslock Frame bag – delightfully oversized and crafted in glove-tanned leather – has been carried by everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker in the third season of And Just Like That… to Tracee Ellis Ross. On social media you can find reviews and “dupes” of the bag galore. In an Instagram Reel, Vevers says that while he always thought the bag was special, the success of it took him and his team by surprise. The first collection sold out online in 20 minutes. In part, Vevers thinks the resonance is because the “playful scale” of the bag allows for a “bold evolution of the archive design”.