Ally Capellino

For people who want understated, long-lasting bags rather than logo-driven status, they tend to deliver. The brand trades on timelessness and quality of design over trends, using hard-wearing materials and clean shapes that age well. Reviewers consistently rate the workmanship as good value for the design, though it's a quiet-luxury proposition — you're paying for craft and longevity, not flash.

Waxed cotton is a brand signature precisely because it's weatherproof and robust — owners often compare its sturdiness to Barbour, and the bags are meant to wear in and develop character over time rather than wear out. To keep them right, let the bag dry thoroughly in a cool, airy spot after a soaking and never store it away damp, and the wax finish will keep doing its job for years.

The brand began as an accessories company in 1980, then expanded into classic tailoring and ready-to-wear through the '80s and '90s. After the original company was restructured in 1999, Alison Lloyd relaunched Ally Capellino on her own and refocused it on bags — which is why today it's best known for satchels, backpacks and accessories rather than clothing.

It comes from the Italian for 'little head.' Alison Lloyd launched the label under that name in 1980 with her then-partner Jonathan Platt, starting as an accessories company before the brand grew into clothing and, eventually, the bags it's known for now.

It was established in 1980 by Alison Lloyd and Jonathan Platt. Lloyd had studied fashion and textiles at Middlesex University and designed clothes for M&S at Courtaulds' central design studio before starting the label. Ally Capellino showed at its first London Fashion Week in 1986 and expanded into menswear that same year.

Yes, and notably so. In December 2019 the parent company merged with Authentic Bespoke Group, but in August 2023 Alison Lloyd took back full ownership of the company. It remains an independent British designer brand led by its founder.

Understated, durable British bags — satchels, backpacks and accessories in waxed cotton, canvas and leather. The label has been described as one that 'dominated the wardrobes of many sensible and stylish women throughout the 80s and into the 90s,' and after Lloyd's relaunch it became firmly identified with timeless, everyday bags.

Plenty, and they tell you a lot about the brand's design-led world. It made a satchel, apron and pencil case range with Tate from 2006, designed laptop bags for Apple's European market in 2008, collaborated with Norse Projects on a rucksack in 2011, made leather goods for the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch in 2013, and produced a range of jackets, hats and backpacks with Barbour in 2022.

The brand retails through its London shop on Calvert Avenue in Shoreditch and online. It has historically run other London shops too — on Portobello Road and in Marylebone — but the Shoreditch store and the website are the dependable starting points if you want to see the bags in person or shop direct.

Very much. It was one of the first British fashion names of its era to break into the Japanese market in the early '90s, and in 2014 founder Alison Lloyd received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire for her contribution to fashion. The label has also featured in V&A exhibitions, including 'Club to Catwalk,' which profiled the London fashion scene of the 1980s.