Back in the day (“the day” being 2010), Katie Holmes hardly went anywhere without her Max Mara Margaux Bag. The top-handle style was the Holmes equivalent of Jennifer Lopez’s Hermès Birkin, featuring a similar turn-lock flap closure. However, the now-vintage model has been noticeably absent from her arm since 2011.
Instead of pulling the Margaux out of storage, Holmes debuted Max Mara’s worthy successor on August 27. As any celebrity New Yorker does (see: Jennifer Lawrence and Zoë Kravitz), the Dawson’s Creek alum took the Whitney Bag 7 out for an off-duty spin. The circa-2015 tote mirrors the rectangular shape of a classic laptop bag. Its low-sheen calfskin exterior is covered in vertical pleated panels—a clear callout to its namesake, the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Ten years ago, it was created in collaboration with the Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Since then, the Whitney has been re-released in seven different shapes, ranging from the smallest 2 Nano to Holmes’s Whitney 7. In May, Max Mara expanded with 13 colorways, celebrating its decade-long legacy. Holmes’s Dark Brown version is mere months old.
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Katie Holmes took her newest Max Mara bag for a stroll on August 27.
(Image credit: Backgrid)
Max Mara US
Whitney Bag 7
It wouldn’t be a proper Holmes outfit without ballet flats of some sort. This time, she chose what appear to be Schutz’s Arissa Flats: square-toe ballerinas topped with leather bows. The $118 shoes are more structured than her typical ballet flats. In the past, Holmes preferred slipper-like styles like her tried-and-true Mansur Gavriel Glove Flats.
The Arissa Flats looked sleek alongside her wide-leg jeans. Though indigo denim is trending this fall, the ’90s baby went with a light-wash finish. On top, she wore an oversize gray sweatshirt.
The Whitney bag has been a celebrity staple since its inception. One month post-launch, Gigi Hadid got ahold of the newborn bag, wearing the small 4 model multiple times in 2015. The supermodel was especially fond of the black version, which retails for $2,090 now, but she also owned its limited-edition purple counterpart.
Back in May 2015, Gigi Hadid was one of the first stars to carry the Whitney.
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Two years later, it wound up in her sister’s closet. At a Max Mara party in 2017, Bella Hadid posed with the larger Whitney 6 in tow. She chose the Natural tan colorway to match her metallic gold suit set. The blazer, bra, and trousers appeared on the Max Mara Fall 2017 runway. But it was Hadid’s choice to add the Whitney to the mix. Nowadays, her medium-sized tote rings up for $2,690.
Her sister, Bella quickly followed suit.
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We’re currently in the midst of a Whitney renaissance, which began long before Holmes revived it. Starting in May 2025, I started spotting its signature pleats at A-list events.
This year, Nicky Hilton, Alexa Chung, Leslie Bibb, Joey King, and most recently, Laura Dern at the Venice Film Festival, endorsed its comeback—with Max Mara’s Whitney front and center.
