Revisiting the storied past of Chanel’s most iconic handbag through exclusive archive images

Arguably, the 2.55 was (and always will be) Gabrielle Chanel's bag. Conjure up images of Mademoiselle Chanel, and you will find her nonchalantly leaning, dressed in two-piece tweed with one hand draped casually across a 2.55 handbag. After all, the now iconised double-flap silhouette and chain strap were crafted and curated to fit Chanel's way of life. Her sartorial values of liberated silhouettes and functional fashion. In her own words: "I tired of holding my bags in my hand and losing them, so I added a strap and wore them over my shoulder."

First designed in 1955, it is a couturière's bag. Made inside out, just like a couture garment, the pieces are carefully sewn together using a bridle stitch before it is reversed. After all, according to Chanel, the “inside must be as beautiful as the outside.” Functionality was key in the design, with an easy-to-adjust chain strap and an ample-sized body aside. The seven pockets were equally considered: two inserts and a smaller middle one for storing lipstick; an outside pocket at the back, large enough for tickets or loose change and curved like “Mona Lisa's smile” – finally, a discreet inner pocket designed for love notes.

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Aside from its hidden stitches, smiling pockets, and considered chain straps, the 2.55 is best known for its square “mademoiselle” clasp and diamond lozenge quilting. It takes 15 hours to make by artisans in the brand's ateliers, and the design has remained the same to this day. However, in 1980, Karl Lagerfeld introduced his own interpretation of the original 2.55: the 11.12. Recognisable for its double CC lock and leather woven chain strap, the 11.12 was made with the same intention as the 2.55 – crafted for real women.

It is no surprise that cinema has seized upon the 2.55 and the 11.12. From the outset, the two styles garnered favour from celebrities like Anouk Aimée and Jeanne Moreau to Delphine Seyrig and Jane Fonda. A slew of tastemakers who wore their own Chanel bag, both on and off-screen. And sartorial royalty like Jackie O and Diana, Princess of Wales, who wore their versions to both casual and formal affairs.

Today, Virginie Viard – the first woman to lead the House since Gabrielle Chanel – reinvents these two styles for the 21st century, making them part of her distinct feminine modernity, pairing bubblegum pink versions with traditional tweed and styling jeans with more classic models. More than mere handbags, the 2.55 and the 11.12 have become emblematic of the brand and luxury as a whole. Like a coat of arms worn cross-body, they contain the history of the house – the present, past and future, linked together with a chain strap.

Below, we explore the 2.55 and 11.12 through archive imagery, examining how tastemakers of yore wore the iconic pieces:

Mademoiselle Chanel poses on a log with a black leather 2.55 bag and her signature pearls two years after the style was first introduced.

Mademoiselle Chanel is captured by Willy Rizzo in 1960 posing in the Jardin des Tuileries with the 2.55 casually slung across her wrist.

Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni and French actress Anouk Aimée depicted at the Termini railway station in Rome on their way to Milan for the premiere of the film La Dolce Vita. They starred in the film with Swedish actress Anita Ekberg.

German-French actres Romy Schneider wearing a tweed suit, two-tone shoes and the 2.55 handbag in Paris, 1962

American actress Jane Fonda wears the 2.55 with her husband, French film director Roger Vadim, at London Airport, 9th October 1965

A stil image from Claude Lelouch's 1966 film A Man and a Woman. A French romantic drama film starring Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant, the 2.55 made a special appearance in this scene.

Jacqueline Kennedy on a private visit to London wearing the 2.55 handbag paired with a petunia pink suit, high heeled black shoes, and a mink hat with black band in 1968.

Kristen Stewart with a large 11.12 handbag on the set of Spencer (2021), portraying Diana, Princess of Wales.