Longchamp’s Le Pliage Bag Thrives Across Generations
Across college campuses in the United States, undergraduates are seen with Longchamp’s Le Pliage tote, a fold‑away bag that has been a favorite of teenagers and twenty‑somethings since its 1993 debut. In Paris, schoolgirls as young as 13 carry the same bag, while in the United Kingdom it remains a staple of accessible luxury, favored by royals and style icons such as Lila Moss and Alexa Chung. The bag even appears in Aaron Sorkin’s new film *The Social Reckoning*, where Mikey Madison’s whistle‑blowing protagonist uses it as part of a San Francisco tech‑employee uniform.
On TikTok, creators praise the Le Pliage for its satisfying look and feel, noting that it is made in workshops across western France. Many describe it as the ideal first “big‑girl” bag, with the classic large canvas version priced at $165 and sizes ranging from extra‑extra‑small to XL. “We’ve always had the image of being excellent value,” explains CEO Jean Cassegrain. “It’s the history of our brand to always be contemporary, in sync with the times, and to adjust to new customer needs.”
Cassegrain is the third generation of the Longchamp family. His father, Philippe, designed the Le Pliage, and his grandfather, also named Jean, founded the company in 1948, originally selling leather pipe accessories. The mustachioed, silver‑haired CEO recalls that those pipes were once popular with hip youngsters. Today, the brand has sparked a new craze among Gen Z and Gen Alpha. While Longchamp does not release specific sales figures for the Le Pliage, it confirms that the bag remains its best‑selling product.
The classic Le Pliage has been a wardrobe staple for young people since the 1990s. “It’s not something we have manufactured,” Cassegrain says, adding that his own teenagers and the children of his employees naturally gravitate toward the bag without any deliberate marketing. He believes teenagers dislike being targeted directly. “If you try to market something as ‘for them’, they are not going to like it,” he notes.
For other players in the accessible‑luxury segment, Longchamp provides a useful example of succeeding without overtly courting Gen Z. While brands such as Coach and Diesel have relied on aggressive social‑media campaigns to capture younger audiences, Longchamp’s quieter, product‑focused strategy has earned it credibility, though it could lose ground if it fails to become more socially savvy. Cassegrain, however, sees no sign that the current approach is waning.
Approximately 80 percent of Longchamp’s customers are women, according to a Vogue Business interview. The under‑25 and 25‑30 age groups are especially dynamic, and the brand’s median customer age sits around 35‑36. In the past three years, the share of shoppers under 35 has risen sharply, with notable differences by region; in France, customers tend to start buying the bag at a younger age.
On TikTok, the hashtag #Longchamp showcases freshmen introducing the bag, as well as “Longchamp epidemic” videos that simply count the number of women and girls carrying it through central London. Some creators recommend the bag as the ultimate back‑to‑school accessory, and British Vogue has called it a revival of the ’00s messy‑prep aesthetic.
A 2023 report by Vogue Business and youth‑culture agency Archrival identified TikTok as the top platform for U.S. Gen Z shoppers discovering new products. One respondent, a 21‑year‑old Chicago student, said a TikTok video prompted her to buy a blue Longchamp bag. “On the first day of school, literally hundreds of other girls had the exact same bag,” she recalled. “It was really weird because it’s a specific brand in a specific color. It almost looked dystopian.” Gen Alpha, whose tastes are shaped by a globally connected internet, also shows interest in the brand’s bridge‑luxury positioning.
In the boardroom, the numbers reflect the buzz. France, China and the United States are Longchamp’s biggest markets. U.S. sales have accelerated over the past two years, posting high double‑digit growth, while China—where many European luxury houses are struggling—still posts single‑digit gains. In 2025, overall sales were up 10 percent year‑on‑year, with every region and distribution channel contributing. North America sales rose 40 percent, representing 15 percent of total turnover, and e‑commerce grew 17 percent.
Cassegrain projects double‑digit growth for 2026, expecting the company to more than double its 2022 turnover within four years, outpacing the broader luxury sector. “The goal is also to grow more than the market, so that we can gain market share,” he says, noting that the luxury accessories and ready‑to‑wear market has not doubled in size over the past four years, making Longchamp an outperformer.
A key attraction for discerning younger shoppers is the My Pliage customization service, launched in 2003 and refreshed in 2025. The program lets customers choose everything from canvas color and monogram details to hardware finishes. From its early days, Asian buyers showed strong demand for personalization, and the offering has since become popular worldwide.