The Bermuda Bag Returns: A Classic Reimagined

by · WWD
The Bermuda Bag with an archival dé Lanthe print, 2027.Courtesy dé Lanthe

What’s new for spring 2027 always arrives on the runways in early fall a year before, and a comeback is always welcome. On Friday, dé Lanthe — once a staple of American prep style — returns to fashion with its iconic Bermuda bag. Founded in 1969 by Delores “Dee” Hyers, the brand’s relaunch is now led by daughter-in-law, Allison Hyers, who also serves as creative director. The dé Lanthe label is set to debut its new collection at Residenza Vignale as part of Emerging Talents Milan during Milan Fashion Week.

In step with the times, when it debuted in the early 1970s, dé Lanthe’s Bermuda bag was recognized for its innovative, single-walnut-frame body and endlessly interchangeable covers. By the 1980s, the brand’s lifestyle approach had helped define prep style and was featured on the cover of Women’s Wear Daily, making it more than an antidote to the classic trend. During the same period, according to the brand’s history, dé Lanthe collaborated with Lilly Pulitzer and shoe designer Jacques Cohen, whose espadrilles were the perfect complement to the bag. A line of its interchangeable covers was also produced for and sold through Pappagallo boutiques, making the Bermuda bag instantly memorable.

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When the label shuttered its doors in 1985, it had all but disappeared from fashion’s purview, but the Bermuda bag retained its collectible status. Today, with a bit of nostalgia, familial collaboration and a modern update, dé Lanthe is set to reenter the market with the bag that put the brand on the map.

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“Preppy” WWD, Jan. 11, 1980. Fairchild Archive and dé Lanthe’s Bermuda bag with red calf hair, 2026. Courtesy dé Lanthe.

WWD recently connected with Allison Hyers, who reached out to the Fairchild Archives to recapture the brand’s nostalgia, through that same 1980s cover feature and varied advertisements that ran in the pages of WWD that decade.

Hyers, who built her career at brands including West Elm, JetBlack, and J.Crew, saw the opportunity to bring the bag forward. Its new design delivers on its nostalgia and today’s efforts to buy smarter. In the brand’s press release, Hyers said that, when Dee introduced the innovative bag in the 1960s, she knew how important it was to have a bag for every occasion and season.

The bag, currently made in the U.S., has a hand-cut black walnut frame and wardrobe-ready covers, in colors, textures and patterns, complemented by storytelling that sets the mood. With this iteration, the brand’s renewed focus honors the classic shape in a covetable update.