How Uniqlo's £15 shoulder bag took the world by storm

We had the Fendi baguette and the Bottega Veneta clutch - but this season's it-bag is from the high street rather than a designer store.

Retailing £14.90, a banana-shaped bag dubbed "the mini round" has become Uniqlo's best-selling bag of all time, selling seven times in the past 18 months depending on the company.

Made of nylon, it is available in 10 colors and can be worn on the shoulder or across the body. Measuring 28cm x 17cm, it's deceptively small - a crucial part of its appeal.

Originally released in April 2022, the bag first went viral when the TikTok user @caitlinphilimore posted a 43-second video of herself unpacking her things. They included: a box of lip balm, a packet of cookies, a wallet, keys, a phone charger, a hair clip, over-ear headphones, a camera, a bottle of perfume and her EpiPen. It has been viewed over 700,000 times.

Just a year later, the hashtag #uniqlobag has over 80 million views, and hundreds of thousands of likes uploaded similar videos. "Two T-shirts, a bottle of water, an external battery, a disposable camera, sunglasses and pants for a festival," quipped a surfer. "A 400ml bottle of body moisturizer, shaving foam, mouth guard cleaner, gloves, wallet, purse, hand sanitizer, tissues, hair clip , a brownie, a spoon, hand cream, lip balm, AirPods, hair ties and keys,” another explains, holding each item up to the camera.

Online it has been dubbed "the Mary Poppins tote", due to its seemingly magical ability to never run out of space.

For many seasons, bags seem to have been limited to two sizes: extra large tote bags that should come with a shoulder injury warning, or tiny mini bags that you can barely fit. lipstick. The Uniqlo bag rebels against both of these standards.

While Tom from Succession might be horrified by the idea of ​​a "ridiculously bulky" bag (see Fashion Statements passim) , for those without a driver on call, a bag that can hold a “monstrous” amount of stuff is a fashion boon. Another practical benefit is that it leaves your hands free, allowing you to walk and text.

The Uniqlo bag is inspired by plastic bags. 90s nylons from Prada which were re-released in 2020. Dubbed the Re-edition Re-Nylon, the new collection coincided with both the resurgence of Y2K style and lockdown where everyone became more aware of what her hands were touching and needed a bag big enough for a bottle of sanitizer. Fashion search engine Lyst declared the collection's mini bag the best-selling bag of 2022 - the same year Uniqlo launched its version.