Almost twenty-five years after Tom Ford first unveiled it, the Saint Laurent Mombasa bag is back. Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello revived the archival hobo for Spring 2026, with Bella Hadid fronting a campaign that very quickly put the bag on the shoulders of celebrities like Rosé, Anja Rubik, and Kiko Mizuhara within weeks of release.
If you’re wondering whether the reissue lives up to the original, or whether it’s worth the price tag, read on to find out what’s actually changed, what’s stayed the same, and what exactly you’d be getting if you were to buy it.
Design
The Mombasa was one of Tom Ford’s defining moments during his 5 year tenure as Saint Laurent’s Creative Director. The original bag was credited with helping push the house’s accessories sales into nine figures in the early 2000s. Its slouchy, rounded silhouette and paneled, curved stitching were unusual for the era’s boxier it-bags, and its signature horn handle became one of the most recognizable details in 2000s handbag design.
The 2026 revival of the Mombasa keeps that rounded hobo shape and paneled construction almost untouched, but swaps the horn handle for a leather-wrapped one across the entire line, finished throughout in bronze-tone hardware.
Practicality and Functionality
Inside, the Mombasa is lined in tonal suede and closes with a magnetic snap rather than a zip, which keeps the silhouette clean but means it’s not the most secure bag for crowded commutes. The Medium and Large both have a single interior zip pocket; the Small doesn’t.
Because the shape is a soft, unstructured hobo, its shape may appear different based on how full it actually is. When packed, it slouches wider and shorter and when half-empty, it collapses in on itself.
That’s true to the original, for better or worse, since it was never a bag built for rigid organization. Carry options also change by size, which is worth knowing before you pick one.
Mombasa Bag Sizes and Dimensions
For this new and updated version, Saint Laurent has released the Mombasa in three sizes: Small, Medium, and Large.
The Small measures 20-27 x 15.5-22.5 x 2.5 cm / 7.9″-10.6″ x 6.1″-8.9″ x 1″, with a 12.5 cm / 4.9″ handle drop sized for hand carry only. It’s built as an evening bag rather than an everyday one.
The Medium measures 24-40 x 24-33 x 3 cm / 9.4″-15.7″ x 9.4″-13″ x 1.2″, with a 23 cm / 9.1″ handle drop, long enough for shoulder carry. It’s the size shown in most of the campaign imagery.
The Large measures 24-48 x 31-44 x 3 cm / 9.4″-18.9″ x 12.2″-17.3″ x 1.2″, with a 31 cm / 12.2″ handle drop, built for hand or shoulder carry and closer to the slouchy, oversized proportions the original Mombasa was known for.
The range in each measurement reflects the hobo shape’s give – these aren’t rigid, structured bags, so the footprint changes with how full they are.
Colorways and Materials
The Mombasa comes in four colourways: Black, Rouge Cabernet, Santal (dark brown), and Dark Oak, all in Saint Laurent’s grained Courchevel calfskin. The vintage-leather finish is exclusive to the Medium, while the pony-hair-leather finish is offered across all three sizes for a more textured look. The Small is additionally offered in a dark bay leaf alligator — an exotic (and even pricier) option exclusive to that size. You can expect new colourways to come into play as the seasons evolve.
Mombasa Bag Price
The Mombasa retails between $3,450 and $5,600 depending on size, with the vintage-leather and pony-hair-leather finishes running slightly higher.
Standard Calfskin
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| Small | $3,450 / £2,530 / €2,850 |
| Medium | $4,300 / £3,105 / €3,500 |
| Large | $5,600 / £4,050 / €4,600 |
Vintage Leather and Pony-hair-leather
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| Small | $4,000 / £3,000 / €3,300 |
| Medium | $4,500 / £3,460 / €3,900 |
| Large | $6,100 / £4,350 / €5,000 |
Where to Buy the Mombasa Bag
The Mombasa is available directly via the Saint Laurent website.
Final Thoughts
The Mombasa was never a quiet bag, and the 2026 version doesn’t try to be one either. It’s a fairly faithful revival of a genuinely era-defining design, updated just enough (the leather handle, the expanded size range) to fit people’s modern day lifestyle. If you loved the original’s slouchy, off-duty attitude, this is about as close as Saint Laurent could get without literally reissuing the horn handle. Whether it’s worth $3,450 – $5,600 really depends on your budget, but as far as reissues go, this is one of the more thoughtful ones. Writing this actually reminded me of another revival that got it right: the Gucci Diana.