Balenciaga City

In 2001, Nicholas Ghesquière was the head designer of Balenciaga. He made a few prototypes for a bag called the "Motorcycle City" bag that would later transform the fashion industry. Unlike other bags that emphasized wealth and cleanliness, the Motorcycle City bag featured black leather, buckles and straps, and a unique "battered" look to signify constant wear. When Balenciaga didn't want to produce the bag, Ghesquière suggested making 25 prototypes and giving them to popular models at the time. The bag skyrocketed to popularity, leading to multiple sizes and variations. In particular, the Balenciaga City Classic Graffiti Mini Black and Balenciaga Metallic Edge City Mini Black are some of the top-selling Balenciaga City bags on StockX. Ghesquière described the bag as fresh and familiar at the same time, which might have contributed to the bag's popularity. After the success of the original bag, Balenciaga has re-released the bag in a variety of sizes and styles. Some bags come in a Graffiti variant that looks like the graffiti was painted directly onto the bag.