Kaia Gerber Introduces Bag Charms to the Boho Renaissance
According to Kaia Gerber, bag charms are back and more Boho than ever. During a Chloé event in Los Angeles, the model-turned-actress put her spin on the blinged-out accessories phenomenon.
Gerber, dressed in a bridal white pantsuit, let her mini shoulder do the heavy lifting as she attended the intimate soirée. She slung a brass mini bag over her shoulder that was dripping in chunky key rings, clusters of ivory pearls, and random bric-a-brac. Gerber’s bag itself was designed in a chainmail material which only accentuated the layered quality of her bag charms even more.
The bag charm trend—which first became a “thing” when Jane Birkin started accessorizing her namesake Hermès tote with scarves and key chains in the ’70s—has been a hit among the celebrity crowd recently. Everyone from Anne Hathaway to Dua Lipa is following in Birkin’s footsteps and even those like Gigi Hadid have taken the trend to the red carpet.
On the runway, Miu Miu’s maximalist charms are perhaps the most viral version of the trend so far but similar iterations have popped up in the collections of Coach and Balenciaga. Even Chloé’s creative director Chemena Kamali presented her Boho version of the trend during the recent spring 2025 season.
Kamali showed a series of charmed bags throughout the collection, like this buttery brown hobo bag that was dangling with feathers and tags. Gerber’s chainmail pouch seems to be sourced from the same collection.
Despite the Jane Birkin connection, bag charms may seem like yet another TikTok micro-trend that’s being thought up on a whim. Do think pieces really need to be written about someone personalizing something they own? Probably not. And that’s why Gerber’s Boho casual version of the style feels so different from the overly instructive DIY tutorials flooding TikTok’s For You Page.
At its core, Boho fashion is distinct in its appreciation of loose, functional silhouettes and free-spirited layering. Is there anything more free-spirited than blinging out a designer bag with charms?
