When I first saw it, I immediately thought: this would be beautiful vintage. The silhouette feels so right for now, yet I could already picture it years from now, softened with wear and carrying that unmistakable vintage appeal. It is structured and polished, with Cartier’s jewellery codes worked into the details rather than placed on top of them.

Images: Courtesy of Cartier

The envelope-inspired closure is one of those details you notice straight away. Taking its cue from the clean fold of an envelope, it subtly defines the shape of the bag while also serving a very practical purpose. The signature Clash stud twists to open and close it, bringing one of the collection’s most recognizable jewellery details directly into the design. It can be left open for a softer, more relaxed shape or fastened for something more structured, and the bag can be carried in the hand, on the arm or over the shoulder. I love that the jewellery detail is not simply there to decorate the bag; it is part of how it works.

Images: courtesy of Cartier

This feels like an important part of Cartier’s return to the handbag conversation. The maison has a long history with bags, from the intricate evening pieces and mesh accessories created under the direction of Jeanne Toussaint in the early 20th century to the Must de Cartier collection of the 1970s and 1980s, which helped establish Cartier as a name in leather goods. The Clash feels like a new interpretation of that history: something made for everyday life, with the same attention to detail that you would expect from its jewellery.

Images: Courtesy of Cartier

Then there is the leather. Crafted in Cartier’s Florence workshops from exceptionally fine natural-grain leather, it has a subtle, tactile finish that is designed to develop a beautiful patina over time. I like a bag that gets better the more you use it — where the material softens, the surface changes and it eventually takes on that slightly worn-in quality that makes vintage bags so appealing.

The colourways are black, caramel and Cartier’s distinctive burgundy, the latter connected to the Must de Cartier collection of the 1970s. They feel classic enough to transcend a single season, while the Clash stud gives each one that unmistakable Cartier finish.

I think the Clash will have its fashion moment this season. What interests me more, though, is what it might look like twenty years from now.

Because when I first saw it, I did not just see the new Cartier bag. I saw the vintage one.