These Are The Bags You’ll Likely See Everywhere During Fashion Week

When we look to invest in a designer handbag, we tend to gravitate towards styles that are most often characterized as "timeless," "classic," and "wear-everyday." (Translation: not too trendy, and probably made of black leather). But, like the shifting retail landscape, what shoppers want to spend money on is changing, too. In the past, the handbags considered to be "most popular" played it safe in terms of color and shape; but, Lyst reports that its statistics for 2017 are telling a different story. We may only be a couple of weeks into the new year, but the e-commerce platform has already observed a massive spike in views for four particular items. Loewe's technicolor elephant bag is an early standout for top 2017 handbags: In the first 10 days of the year, it got 307% more searches and 128% more sale conversions than the brand's average views and checkouts. Anya Hindmarch's cherry red, googley-eyed pouch has seen the second-highest bump compared to the brand's average, with searches up 222% and sales up 80%. Sophie Hulme may best be known for its structured, monochromatic handbags, but the style that got on Lyst's radar is its candy-striped crossbody, which has seen a 103% increase in searches and 56% increase in sales. The last of the top four is Sophie Anderson's circular, striped Adorada bag, which is up 47% and 29% in views and sales, respectively. These bags, while wildly different in look, share a few commonalities: bright colors, playful details, and unconventional silhouettes. Lyst believes this is no coincidence: "In the last couple of seasons, we've started to see a shift away from more practical bags, with brands such as Anya Hindmarch and Marc Jacobs including more irreverent styles (think smiley faces and road signs) alongside their more timeless black and tan designs," Sophie Hay, the company's editorial manager, tells Refinery29. "However, in 2016 we really saw a shift in brands known for their classic investment styles, like Loewe and Mulberry, forego staple classics for playful alternatives." "At the beginning of 2016, our shoppers were investing in Instagram It-bags," Hay notes of how different these silhouettes are from last year's most popular pieces. "The Chloé Faye, Mansur Gavriel's bucket bags, and J.W Anderson's Pierce bags were all gaining momentum." While these styles have been wildly popular for awhile, she noted, they're most accurately described as practical. "The most popular colors were neutral shades (black and tan), and were comparatively inexpensive. People were looking to invest in a bag that wouldn't date after the season was over." This is a pretty dramatic shift when you think of aesthetics solely. But according to Hay, that there's a different search behavior that comes with statement pieces — specifically, she noted that the "purchasing intent" is much more deliberate. "With these trend-led styles, people know exactly what they are after, and will search for a specific designer and bag name," she explained. "With more classic handbag styles people tend to browse more before committing to that big purchase." Already, 2017 seems to be painting a different picture. Hay hypothesizes that this might be customers' way of responding to the garbage fire that was 2016. "Fashion, like anything else, functions as a mirror to what is going on in the world around us," she postulated. "After the slog that was 2016, I think consumers are looking for a bit of light relief when it comes to their clothing. A playful bag is a low-commitment way to add a bit of fun to your wardrobe (and it looks great on Instagram.)" So, when we play our biannual game of street-style eye spy, watch out for these four styles. Considering these stats, you'll likely spot them everywhere.