We may be living in the age of minimalism, but cuteness is having a moment too.
From Coach’s latest show, where models strutted the runway in fluffy bunny slippers and sporting bags and sneakers adorned with teddy bear charms, to Loewe’s recent collaboration with artist Suna Fujita featuring rabbits, lemurs, pandas and more, to Bottega Veneta’s summer 2025 campaign featuring animal-shaped bean bag chairs, luxury brands are signalling that cute-ified products and quirky marketing are on trend.
More accessibly priced whimsy has also been gaining ground — especially in the growing handbag charm trend. According to market intelligence firm Trendalytics, bag charms have seen a 280 percent increase in TikTok views since August, while Google searches for the term peaked in November at 1,700 percent over the previous year. And while fast-fashion retailers have been quick to release their own versions, luxury brands have been using them as a way to access younger consumers. Loewe’s zippable whale-shaped charm produced in partnership with Fujita, for instance, goes for $690, and can just as easily be attached to a $45 Baggu shoulder bag as Loewe’s nearly $3,000 Puzzle handbags.
But there’s more to the proliferation of playful pieces. As fashion progresses beyond the era of the viral microtrend, brands are seeking new ways to stand out and connect with audiences in unexpected and unselfconscious ways. Meanwhile, runway fashion has gravitated towards subdued, minimalist clothing, and even many shoppers who embrace the trend often look for cute accessories and accents to liven things up.
“The minimal, clean aesthetic that’s happening … is really lending itself to accessories right now,” said Jessica Irick Peek, general merchandising manager for retailer Anthropologie, whose charm shop, launched in Q3 of 2024, has since become its fastest-growing accessories category.
Purveyors of cute also point to political and economic uncertainty. Stressed out shoppers seek out levity and nostalgic themes.
“People used to wear amulets, or things that were a good luck charm,” said Susan Korn, whose jewellery brand Susan Alexandra sells swan-shaped handbags and shrimp charms, among other icons of cuteness. “Things seem so scary right now. And that’s when we look for comfort in everything we do … so much of what we make is tapping into delights for the inner child, when things were simpler.”
Stylish Security Blankets
For now at least, the trend is contained mostly to brands that have a bit of cuteness built into their DNA (the closest Rick Owens has come to a bag charm is a plush cyclops bunny bag). Loewe is no stranger to mining childhood nostalgia, including a “My Neighbor Totoro”-themed capsule collection in 2021. Same for Coach, which for the past few seasons has been engaging Gen-Z and Alpha with its funky looks and bag charms — which this season have been blown out to oversized proportions.
As consumers continue to exist in a period of unknowns — political and otherwise — leaning into playfulness and cheer seems like just the ticket to connect with audiences. “Whatever has that smile factor has been the strongest seller,” said Anthropologie’s Irick Peek.
“I am very aware that fashion does not save lives, but I know how it can make people feel. Sometimes a beautifully made little jellyfish evening bag or a fun pencil case at a very serious meeting can lift the mood,” said Anya Hindmarch, founder of her eponymous handbag brand that has long added playful elements to its designs, in an email.
Clare Vivier, founder of accessories brand Clare V., pointed to one of the wooden bag handles from her most recent collection shaped like a series of red lips, and how she recently carried it to a meeting, without a handbag attached to it, just as “something happy to hold onto.”
“And it felt like I was a little girl again,” said Vivier. “And this has something to do with what’s happening [in the world.] Kind of like a security blanket.”
A Bag Charm on a Birkin
Whimsy can also help brands, and their customers, stand out from the crowd.
“It’s backlash to the whole ‘cores’ of it all, when you were being told to dress under a certain aesthetic for so long,” said Kendall Becker, fashion and trends editor for Trendalytics, referring to TikTok trends that have everyone briefly dressing like coastal grandmothers or mob wives.
She highlighted the popularity of wardrobe staple dressing, with a focus on basics like denim and suiting, as another driver for consumers to “miss the emotional element,” she said. While it can be hard to stand out in basics, adding cute flourishes can help, “whether it’s a fun detail to a heel or a bag charm… it still proves that luxury doesn’t need to be so serious, and that the consumer is looking to have fun and be self-expressive when she’s getting dressed,” she explained.
“Everyone needs to feel like they’re their own person in the sea of everything’s everywhere, everything’s discovered, everything’s on TikTok,” said Korn.
And the level of personalisation can look very different depending on the customer. Korn gave the example of a more minimalist shopper entering her store dressed in The Row with a Birkin bag, but looking for one of the brand’s bag charms to add to it for a little levity and a personal touch (which is how the original wearer of the bag, Jane Birkin, wore hers). On the other hand, some might be more keen on going all-out with the cuteness trend, from bedazzled barrettes all the way down to fuzzy bear slippers.
“Consumers all find comfort in different ways, so the cuteness or the whimsicality won’t be something that reaches everybody, so there will be different iterations that come to the surface,” said Becker. “So maybe it’s having fun with a pendant, and could that tell her story, or looking at beauty for a different category … So all these different ways are showing up that are letting her explore who she is and what brings her comfort.”
