Story & heritage

The Sugar was one of the defining handbags of Alber Elbaz's Lanvin — the Israeli-American designer who served as artistic director from 2001 to 2015 and whose feminine, draped, ribbon-and-pleat aesthetic revived the house. The Sugar translated that softness into leather: a fold-over flap shoulder bag in pillowy quilted lambskin, deliberately unstructured where most quilted bags were rigid.

It became a quiet everyday workhorse of the Elbaz years — recognisable by its slouchy body, gold LANVIN lettering and the chain strap doubled with a leather shoulder pad — and remains one of the most sought-after bags from that era.

Materials & craft

The Sugar is made in soft lambskin, the lower body worked in a loose diamond quilt that keeps the bag's pillowy slouch. The fold-over flap is stamped with gold LANVIN Paris lettering and closes over a soft, multi-compartment interior. The strap pairs a gold-tone chain with a leather shoulder pad for comfort, and a thin leather pull tassels at the side — details typical of Elbaz's tactile, hand-finished approach.

How to choose & style

The Sugar is the easy Elbaz bag — soft, light and built for the day, equally at home on the shoulder or in the crook of the arm. Black lambskin is the classic and goes with everything; the quilting and gold lettering are its only ornament. It looks best carried softly, the slouch part of the point, against the fluid tailoring Elbaz built it to accompany.