Of Furs, Hairs and Soft Textures
August 18, 2026
Nothing smells like a future heirloom unlike iconic colour-texture pairings. With the consistent emergence of the brown-suede pairing or the animal-print-calf-hair pairing, this style trend will become a mainstay in every wardrobe for years to come.
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Typical is leather as the choice material in the world of luxury investment bags. We see it on handbags, tote bags, bucket bags and more.
While that may be true, the softer cousin of this sturdy and resilient animal skin has been making its way to the public eye, namely suede, and more recently, calf hair and even pony hair. On top of that, the colourways most often paired with it is the rich chocolate brown, now seen on bags like Gucci’s famous Jackie shoulder bag, Balenciaga’s Le City one, and Loewe’s logo-debossed tote bag.
This pairing is making itself a staple in the fashion for years to come, like the colour-texture combination of white poplin and black silk. Combinations so timeless and intuitive that no matter how many times these pairings are repeated throughout fashion history, they never date.
1
The Workhorse, The Errand Runner: The Slouchy Suede Tote
Most obvious is the adoption of suede leather on tote bags and carryalls, its slouchy and soft form giving the bag a casual yet sophisticated feel. For instance, Loewe’s leather-trimmed suede tote, with its rich chocolate brown and cursive logo-debossed font. Spacious and massive, it holds the day’s content from the moment one steps out the door to the moment one kicks off their footwear. This is what we call the ultimate errand bag.
- Fits a laptop, books or your daily planner or journal
- Stopped by the grocer or supermarket on the way home? This tote serves as a shopping tote.
2
The Suede Tote Bag, But Structured
While the slouchy suede tote is trendy, this soft unstructured tote is not made for everyone. For those who want to have a go at brown suede but keep their bags structured, designers like Gucci and Balenciaga offer equally trendy options.
In the case of Gucci’s Jackie shoulder bag and Balenciaga’s Le City one, suede and leather are used together, giving the bags more texture and visual features. While these bags have similar textures, the Jackie bag, with its clean lines and rounded corners, calls for a simpler and polished look (think modern day Audrey Hepburn), while the Le City bag looks great paired with denim bottoms and ballet flats (think Parisian chic).
3
The Life of the Party: The Animal-print Calf-hair Bag
In recent years, there has been a simmering obsession among designers and brands with mixing unlikely animal prints with unlikely animal hairs. Take for example Gabriela Hearst’s calf-hair clutch. Not only is it made of calf-hair, it also features cow print, a doubly bold combination. With its round silhouette, the bag’s patterns and texture don’t come off tacky or overdone, remaining chic yet adds a dash of personality to a potentially minimalist look. The result is a timeless elegance.
On the same tangent is Khaite’s Cate leather-trimmed calf hair tote, this time featuring a zebra print. Not as subtle as Gabriela Hearst’s cow print clutch, Khaite’s zebra print tote bag is the bag one reaches for on a night out with the girls. From cafe-hopping to bookstore visits and grocery runs, this small yet feisty bag demands of the wearer a confidence like no other.
Takeaways
Nothing smells like a future heirloom unlike iconic colour-texture pairings. With the consistent emergence of the brown-suede pairing or the animal-print-calf-hair pairing, this style trend will become a mainstay in every wardrobe for years to come.
