New CELINE, New Luggage

A cult favourite of the 2010s, CELINE introduces the New Luggage by creative director Michael Rider

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Published: 26 September 2025

A$AP Rocky with the large New Luggage bag.
*(CELINE)*

There's no denying that when Michael Rider was appointed as CELINE's new creative director, much excitement was in the air. Rider is, after all, a Céline alum back when the House was under the creative direction of one Phoebe Philo—someone you may be familiar with as being the favourite of women and men for her sophisticated approach to minimalism. Philo too created one of 2010s most memorable It bags: the Luggage tote.

While Céline was a womenswear brand under Philo, her designs were predominantly quite unisex in nature. The Luggage tote was one of those bag designs beloved by both women and men, and clearly Rider knows this all too well. His debut runway collection for CELINE marked the return of the Luggage with a refreshed look.

Simply referred to as the New Luggage bag, Rider's version stays true to the distinct silhouette of the original. Philophiles would immediately recognise that the New Luggage references not only the original Luggage but also its sibling, the Phantom that was first launched in 2011. The latter takes its cues from the original but designed with a wider wingspan as well as a much longer zipper pull, giving it a more pronounced emoji-like front. The New Luggage bag combines elements of the two, and trading the almost square-shaped foundation for a more rectangular, wider silhouette.

The iconic emoji-like face has been given a more relaxed, fun update too. The "Smile" edition of the New Luggage bag is essentially fitted with a defined, curved-up zipped compartment that turns the 😐 into a 🙂. This particular edition also comes in a Cabas version that's slimmer on the sides, without the emblematic wings.

And like we said, Philo's creations were unisex in nature; Rider's are poised to be so too, even with him designing both womenswear and menswear for the House. The New Luggage bag already has the stamp of approval by style savants the likes of A$AP Rocky, V, and Park Bogum, and with all things of the era circling back to find (or haunt) us once again, this feels timely.