The Fanny Pack Is Back and Yes, You Need One

The fashion crowd is famous for resurrecting trends we thought we’d seen the last of. Scrunchies, Birkenstocks, platform sneakers — it seems just when we’ve put past sartorial moments like these out of our minds, they pop back up again. We’ve learned never to say never when it comes to giving a retro redux a go — and good thing too, because fanny packs have officially returned, and they actually look cool. No, really.

Matchy matchy belt bags at New York Fashion Week Spring 2018; Image: Imaxtree

The fanny pack — or belt bag, as it’s now been christened — was everywhere this past fashion month. It had been creeping back into the industry’s good graces for a while (Kendall Jenner was snapped wearing one back in January), but with Spring 2018, the trend is hitting critical mass. Aside from the runways, where Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, Rachel Comey and more sent out models rocking the hands-free bag, the streets outside the shows were teeming with industry insiders cosigning the craze.

They weren’t sporting the neon nylon versions of Disney trips gone by, either. No, the It girl set favored luxe options from power players like Prada, Christian Dior and Chanel. Slung over dresses, atop power suits and strung through belt loops of everything from trenches to leather pants, one thing was abundantly clear: this is not your dad’s waist bag.

Fanny pack spotted at New York Fashion Week Spring 2018; Image: Imaxtree

Whether the fanny pack phenomenon is an outgrowth of the mini bag or athleisure trends, a move toward more functional fashion or maybe just nostalgia for simpler times, we may not truly be able to discern for sure. What we do know is that the hands-free bag of today is a stylish, sophisticated evolution of its predecessor and a revival we can totally get behind. If you’re ready to get back on board the belt bag train with us, click through the slideshow ahead for styling inspo and a selection of the best fanny packs to buy now.