In September 2018, Gabrielle Boucinha launched @oldceline to honor Phoebe Philo’s tenure at Celiné (yes, with an é), just months after the former creative director presented her final collection for the French house — a move that had many fashion folks in mourning (and that’s not an exaggeration). If the account’s 355K and counting followers are any indication, Philo had an especially loyal fan base. One of her most popular designs while at the helm? The Phantom bag. “When the Phantom was first launched in 2011 under Phoebe Philo’s creative direction, it quickly became a hallmark it bag for its timeless design and structure,” explains Brie Welch, eBay’s resident stylist. Fast forward to today, and the silhouette is having a major resurgence.
The recent fascination with the bag is all thanks to newly appointed CD Michael Rider, who reimagined the iconic silhouette in his debut collection for Spring/Summer 2026, which received a resounding yes from insiders after it hit the runway in Paris last month. Succeeding Hedi Slimane, Rider introduced a new style of the carryall, featuring a more elongated shape and a front zipper that forms a curve, resembling a smile. “I think the new iteration under Rider is catching the consumer’s interest again for its versatility and the nod back to its origins,” Welch says. “It’s a way to have something old that aligns with what’s trending again.”
Unsurprisingly, the silhouette is already making its way around the celebrity world. On August 11, A$AP Rocky, a muse of the house, sported the black version while out and about in New York. With Celine’s devoted A-list following, it’s anyone’s guess as to who will tote it around next (his beau Rihanna, perhaps?).
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The new iteration is destined to be a success, given all the buzz around the silhouette. But considering it doesn’t launch until next spring, it makes sense that the fashion set is currently heading over the resale sites, desperate to get their hands on the original Phantom design. The increase in demand for the bag has been quite shocking to Anais Rivera, the director of domestic procurement at FASHIONPHILE. “Searches for ‘Celine Phantom’ spiked the week of July 6, right after the runway debut, jumping 576.4% from July 6 through August 11 compared to the previous month,” she tells TZR. “For a style that’s been relatively quiet for years, that’s a huge shift. Typically, with runway revivals, we see interest build more gradually, starting with early adopters, but this one had an immediate surge.”
And over at Rebag, interest in the Phantom bag soared 1,000% after months of relatively low searches, reports Elizabeth Layne, the resale site’s chief marketing officer. “Demand has since settled at higher-than-usual levels with recurring surges through late July and early August,” she tells TZR.
Instantly recognizable by its wide-winged silhouette, the oversized tote dropped a year after Philo released the Luggage bag, a structured, boxy-shaped carryall. In the 2010s, the Phantom was a hot commodity, often spotted on the likes of Kim Kardashian, Lindsay Lohan, Rihanna, the Olsen twins, Gwyneth Paltrow, and the list goes on.
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Blame it on the industry’s appetite for nostalgia, but the Phantom is far from the first 2010s silhouette to return as of late. For one, Chloé’s famous Paddington was reissued in its Fall/Winter 2025 collection — thank you very much, Chemena Kamali. Coincidentally enough, the silhouette was first introduced by Philo in 2005, when Kamali, the current CD of Chloé, was her intern. “What was quite unique about the success of Chloé’s bags was that they had no logos — they were never precious objects,” Kamali told Vogue shortly after taking the reins. Meanwhile, the Fendi Spy bag, which debuted for Spring/Summer 2005, returned for the brand’s 100th anniversary last month.
There’s also the fact that roomy, oversized bags, in general, are enjoying a moment right now. “The Row Margaux, the Hermès Birkin 35, and Bottega’s oversized Hop have all had their turn in the spotlight recently,” Rivera notes. “The Phantom slots right into that trend while also delivering nostalgia for the Tumblr-era fashion crowd.” The expert recalls when the Phantom was the bag to own in the early aughts. “Now, it’s resonating with people who loved it the first time around and with a new audience discovering it for the first time,” she adds.
No matter which camp you fall into, shop a selection of pre-loved Celine Phantom bags below — and before resale prices inevitably skyrocket.
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