The 2026 World Cup may have ended about six weeks ago, but some fashion trends from football’s biggest stars are still gaining momentum.
Luxury bags were among the most conspicuous accessories carried by players throughout the tournament. Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland appeared with Hermès Birkin bags, while Kylian Mbappé favored Dior and Lionel Messi has amassed a collection dominated by Dior, Hermès and Louis Vuitton.
Now, however, attention is shifting away from oversized luxury bags toward something much smaller: clutch bags carried in the hand or tucked beneath the arm.
The trend itself is not new, but it has become increasingly visible among men this summer, especially those who have no hesitation about carrying a compact, logo-heavy bag that leaves their pockets empty.
Kylian Mbappé with a Dior bag
(Photo: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Celebrities including Harry Styles, Bad Bunny, Jacob Elordi and Patrick Schwarzenegger have appeared on red carpets and in paparazzi photographs with clutches for years. Most are barely large enough for the essentials: a phone, house and car keys, sunglasses and, for smokers, a pack of cigarettes.
Louis Partridge at Prada’s Spring-Summer 2027 menswear show
(Photo: Victor Boyko/Getty Images)
More recently, some of the world’s biggest football players have joined them. In May, Mbappé arrived at the French national team’s training base carrying Dior’s A5 Triangle clutch, priced at about 1,300 euros, or roughly 4,700 shekels. France teammate Manu Koné was photographed during the World Cup with a yellow Goyard clutch costing $5,900, or just over 17,000 shekels.
João Pedro at Wimbledon
(Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for AELTC, Wimbledon)
There is also a blurry distinction between a true clutch and the toiletry bags some men now carry outside stadium locker rooms as if they were handbags.
In practice, many use the two almost interchangeably. A wash bag becomes a day bag, or vice versa. Visually, the effect is much the same, and few observers are likely to care whether it contains shampoo or a smartphone.
Everyone wants to look rich
The clutch bag’s rise is hardly occurring in isolation. The accessory is also enjoying a revival on menswear runways for the coming fall and next summer.
At Louis Vuitton, models carried small clutches and medium-sized bags by hand rather than over the shoulder. Similar styling appeared at Dries Van Noten and designer Hed Mayner, reflecting a broader push toward greater flexibility in how men wear and carry accessories.
Louis Vuitton’s Fall-Winter 2026-27 menswear show
(Photo: Kristy Sparow/Getty Images)
Louis Vuitton’s Fall-Winter 2026-27 menswear show
(Photo: Pietro S. D'Aprano/Getty Images for Ralph Lauren)
Dolce & Gabbana paired suits and resort wear with clutches, some decorated with jeweled charms and others made from crocodile-effect leather that added a tougher edge to the overall look.
Ralph Lauren, meanwhile, sent models down the runway in tailored suits carrying leather clutches in a range of sizes, using the bags to give otherwise formal outfits a more relaxed feel.
Louis Vuitton’s Fall-Winter 2026-27 menswear show
(Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
None of this means traditional ideas about masculinity have disappeared. But the notion that a clutch is inherently a women’s accessory has steadily weakened.
A growing number of men, celebrities and otherwise, are replacing crossbody bags and belt bags with clutches. The trade-off is obvious: they are not always convenient. A clutch occupies one hand almost constantly. Take out your phone to type a message, for example, and you immediately have to work out where to put the bag.
Hed Mayner’s Spring-Summer 2027 menswear show
(Photo: Francois Durand/Getty Images)
That inconvenience is also part of the point. Choosing a prominently branded clutch, whether authentic or counterfeit, is often less about practicality than conspicuous display. It tells people that the person carrying it has money, or at least wants to create that impression.
There is also a relatively accessible route into that image. Small clutches can sit near the lower end of a luxury fashion house’s leather-goods range, while larger handbags from the same brand may cost twice as much or more.