A$AP Rocky Spotted With Celine’s New It-Bag
Some people invest in stocks, others invest in bags—and A$AP Rocky belongs firmly in the latter camp. He’s the kind of man who doesn’t wait for Wall Street’s closing bell to boost the value of his style portfolio.
On days when New York’s sweltering heat sends everyone fleeing to the Hamptons, Rocky—currently promoting his film Highest 2 Lowest—was spotted strolling the city in a head-to-toe Celine look: a caramel double-breasted jacket, light-wash beachy denim, calfskin loafers, and a tie that, in theory, is formal but on him reads as slyly ironic. The real star, however, was in his hand: a Large Luggage in glossy black leather. Why the hype? Because it’s part of the very first collection by Michael Rider, now at the helm of Celine—a debut already rewriting the house’s vocabulary, unafraid to redraw its icons. In this case, the icon is the legendary Phantom, newly reinterpreted. And no, it’s not officially on sale yet.
To rewind: in its original form, the Luggage Phantom was one of the defining bags of the 2010s—oversized, elegant yet deeply practical, with its winged sides, curved zipper, and structured silhouette seen on everyone from Rihanna to the Olsen twins. After a quiet spell, it returned to the spotlight on July 6, 2025, during Celine’s Paris show—Rider’s first as creative director. His take turns it into an East–West tote, more horizontal, with the original handles intact and smooth leather detailing that amplifies its function and personality. Rider knows the model well; he served as Celine’s head of ready-to-wear design from 2008 to 2018 after a stint as senior designer at Balenciaga.
For Rocky, this bag isn’t just a style flourish—it’s a statement. It says that Celine’s archive can still smile—literally, in the curve of the zipper—and that streetwear and haute couture can speak the same language without hierarchy. This new Phantom isn’t merely an accessory; it’s a bridge between nostalgia and the contemporary fashion lexicon. And there couldn’t be a better ambassador: Rocky has an almost scholarly passion for bags. He doesn’t just collect them—he studies them, lives with them, wears them as if they’re an extension of his own body. Seeing him with this bag is like spotting someone who holds a secret map of the city—you know it’s not a coincidence, and you don’t need him to open it to understand there’s an entire philosophy of style inside.
It’s the same instinct that allows him to blend tailoring with streetwear, poplin with rap, monk straps with skate sneakers (though today, he’s left the sneakers at home).
Ultimately, Rocky’s appeal lies in this: not just in his campaigns or records, but in the way he can slip seamlessly into any style conversation, from the most classic to the most experimental. And when he does it with a bag in hand—as Jacob Elordi has shown us—the message is clear: fashion isn’t just a shop window; it’s an extension of personality. Even when you’re, apparently, just hailing a cab.
First published on gqitalia
