Attenzione, pickpocket! Perhaps you recall two-and-a-half years ago, when an Italian woman went viral for warning tourists about thieves in densely populated areas, or this past summer, when a vigilante American tourist caught a Venetian pickpocket by her ponytail.
While these petty thieves still make headlines now and again, nowadays, people don’t seem to be pickpocketing like they used to. In London, thieves have graduated from the subtle art of snagging wallets from pockets in crowded tube cars, instead opting for drive-by e-bike robberies, swooping phones out of unsuspecting tourists’s hands and zooming off. Luckily for the old guard, there’s a new, pickpocket-friendly styling trick in town: the gaping, wide open bag.
During the spring 2026 shows in Paris, my colleagues and I noticed the unusual look on major runways. At Dior, Jonathan Anderson introduced a ladylike, asymmetrical bag, with only one handle on the inside of the body, leaving it so that it tilted away from the wearer. Anderson, however, designed the purse with a closure, ensuring that the contents wouldn’t be visible for all passersby to see—and take!
Other designers, however, chose to leave their bags open on the runway as something of a styling technique. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez gave it a try at Loewe, while Matthieu Blazy did it at Chanel. This kind of frazzled woman-on-the-go look (popularized in recent years by Miuccia Prada) helps buyers view the clothing as something that could fit into their hectic, everyday life. It’s not as practical off the runway—unless you’re famous, that is.
Jennifer Lawrence, Victoria Beckham, and Ariana Grande have all given the flung-open bag a try in recent months. Beckham, in Paris for her own spring 2026 runway, plucked the trend straight from her show, carrying her light brown Hermès Kelly wide open. Most perplexing about the whole situation wasn’t that Beckham was at risk for robbery, but that it was raining. Does a trend warrant a damp Kelly?
Lawrence took a cue from Beckham shortly thereafter, milling about New York City, with her own black Kelly left undone. The actor was photographed rooting around in her bag, but kept it wide open for easy access. Grande, for her part, modeled Anderson’s Dior edition during dinner with SNL cast members earlier this week, the mouth of her bag well-protected.
While we’re all for the look in theory, we don’t all necessarily have the same level of security detail as the likes of Lawrence, Beckham, and Grande. So perhaps think twice if you’re thinking of trying the look for yourself.
