9 Celebrities Who Inspired Iconic Designer Fashion Pieces

Samantha StutsmanThu, July 9, 2026 at 11:30 AM UTC

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Jane Birkin holding an Hermès Birkin bag; Princess Diana holding a Lady Dior bag.Credit: Jun Sato/WireImage; Tim Graham/Getty

Fashion’s most famous handbags and shoes don’t just carry designer labels — some also bear the names of the celebrities who helped make them iconic.

Over the years, luxury brands have turned to actresses, royals and style icons as muses, creating accessories that remain synonymous with the women who inspired them.

From the Hermès Kelly bag, which became forever linked to Princess Grace, to the Hermès Birkin, born from a chance encounter with Jane Birkin, these pieces have transcended trends to become fashion legends in their own right.

Other famous examples include the Gucci Jackie bag, named after Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Christian Louboutin’s Kate pump, which were inspired by supermodel Kate Moss.

Take a look at nine celebrities who inspired some of fashion’s most memorable designer creations.

01 of 09

Jane Birkin: Hermès Birkin

Jane Birkin; Jane’s original Hermès Birkin bag.Credit: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty; ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty

Jane Birkin inspired the iconic Hermès Birkin bag after a chance encounter with Hermès executive chairman Jean-Louis Dumas on a flight from Paris to London in 1983, per CBS Sunday Morning.

When the contents of her bag spilled onto the floor, Birkin told Dumas she struggled to find a stylish handbag large enough for everyday life. As they talked, she sketched her ideal design on an airplane sick bag. Dumas later turned the concept into a roomy yet elegant leather tote, which debuted in 1984 and was named the Birkin in her honor.

Though the bag went on to become one of the world’s most coveted luxury accessories, Birkin told CBS in 2018 that she appreciated its practicality.

“I was quite well known for the basket before, so I just obviously knew that girls like to have masses of things in the handbag,” she said. “[The Birkin wears] really well, I love things that wear really well.”

02 of 09

Sophia Coppola: Louis Vuitton SC

Sofia Coppola holding the Louis Vuitton SC bag.Credit: Andreas Rentz/Getty

Filmmaker Sofia Coppola inspired Louis Vuitton’s SC bag, which debuted in 2009.

Designed in collaboration with then-artistic director Marc Jacobs, the structured handbag features soft leather, rolled top handles, a discreet lock and minimal branding — a departure from Louis Vuitton’s more logo-heavy designs.

“What I really wanted was a bag for myself. I knew I wanted it to be chic and classic, entirely in leather, discreet, and, above all, practical,” Coppola told L’Officiel in 2016. “When I looked at the archives, I was very much inspired by the Speedy. My idea for the bag was also driven by everyday life: everybody has a busy life; I wanted something in which you could carry everything you need and which allowed you to go to a dinner straight from work.”

03 of 09

Lana Del Rey: Mulberry Del Rey

Lana Del Rey holding the Mulberry Del Rey bag.Credit: Dave M. Benett/Getty

Lana Del Rey was the muse behind Mulberry’s Del Rey bag, which debuted in 2012.

Designed by then-creative director Emma Hill, the handbag features a structured silhouette with softly rounded corners, rolled top handles and Mulberry’s signature postman’s lock closure.

“I love the design, a perfect mix between old school Hollywood and contemporary style. It’s an honour that such a classic and prestigious brand would name a bag after me,” Del Rey said when the bag launched, per Glamour.

04 of 09

Princess Diana: Lady Dior and the Gucci Diana

Princess Diana carrying the Lady Dior bag; Gucci Diana bag.Credit: Ken Goff/Getty; Streetstyleshooters/Getty

Princess Diana inspired not one but two iconic designer handbags. In 1995, she was gifted Dior’s now-famous Lady Dior bag and soon began carrying the quilted leather design and signature letter charms to public engagements around the world.

Her association with the style was so strong that Dior soon renamed it in her honor, according to WWD.

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Diana also helped popularize Gucci’s bamboo-handle tote after frequently carrying the bag during off-duty outings in the 1990s. Decades later, the fashion house reissued the design as the Gucci Diana, cementing her enduring influence on fashion, per L’Officiel.

05 of 09

Selena Gomez: Coach Selena Grace

Selena Gomez; Coach Selena Grace bag.Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage; Coach

Selena Gomez is the celebrity behind Coach’s Selena Grace bag, which debuted in 2017 as part of her collaboration with the American fashion house, per PR Newswire.

Designed alongside Coach creative director Stuart Vevers, the structured carryall features smooth leather, top handles, a detachable shoulder strap and a roomy interior designed for everyday use.

Named after both the singer and the quality Coach said she embodies, the Selena Grace also included personal touches such as Gomez’s signature, the phrase “Love yourself first” in her handwriting, and an interior patch that reads, “To be you is to be strong.”

06 of 09

Audrey Hepburn: Ferragamo Audrey

Audrey Hepburn; Ferragamo Audrey flats.Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty; Ferragamo

Audrey Hepburn inspired Ferragamo’s Audrey ballet flat, a shoe originally designed for the actress in 1954, according to Vogue.

Featuring a rounded toe, a delicate strap and a low heel, the elegant style reflected Hepburn’s famously minimalist aesthetic. The actress wore Ferragamo shoes throughout her career, and the design was later reissued as the Audrey in her honor.

07 of 09

Princess Grace: Hermès Kelly

Grace Kelly; Hermès Kelly bag.Credit: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty; Edward Berthelot/Getty

Before the Birkin, Princess Grace inspired one of fashion’s most iconic handbags after she was repeatedly photographed carrying an Hermès leather bag in the 1950s, according to Harper’s Bazaar.

Originally introduced in the 1930s as the Petit Sac à Courroies, the structured handbag featured a trapezoidal shape, a top handle, a flap closure secured by two straps and a signature padlock.

In 1956, photos of the pregnant princess using the bag to shield her baby bump from photographers appeared around the world, and the design became so closely associated with her that Hermès eventually renamed it the Kelly in her honor.

08 of 09

Jackie Kennedy: Gucci Jackie

Jackie Kennedy; Gucci Jackie bag.Credit: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Edward Berthelot/Getty

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis became the namesake of Gucci’s iconic Jackie bag after she was repeatedly photographed carrying the style in the 1960s and 1970s.

Originally introduced in 1961 under a different name, per Town & Country, the bag features a softly curved hobo silhouette, a single shoulder strap and a sleek piston-style clasp.

Its relaxed yet sophisticated shape made it a favorite of the former first lady, and Gucci eventually renamed the design after her. Today, the Jackie remains one of the fashion house’s most enduring handbags.

09 of 09

Kate Moss: Christian Louboutin Kate

Kate Moss; Christian Louboutin Kate pumps.Credit: Maya Dehlin Spach/Getty; Streetstyleshooters/Getty

Supermodel Kate Moss was the muse behind Christian Louboutin’s iconic Kate pump, which debuted in 2012.

The sleek stiletto features a sharply pointed toe, a low-cut vamp that reveals a glimpse of the toes and the designer’s signature red sole. Christian Louboutin later explained that the shoe’s clean, refined silhouette reminded him of Moss herself.

“The Kate is a sharp style, simple and very complex at the same time,” he told WWD in 2024. “If the line is not very perfect, you do not have any embellishment to hide it. It sounded so much like Kate Moss, simple yet very sophisticated. I felt this pump just had to be named after her, because it was so Kate.”

The shoe’s popularity later led to the creation of the So Kate, an even higher version of the stiletto that has become one of Louboutin’s most recognizable designs.

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