Woven wicker bags and raffia sandals - what Mediterranean women have worn for decades without anyone batting an eye - have suddenly become haute couture. Summer 2026 brings back, in grand style, the very items every beach bag in Spain has always carried: woven baskets, straw sandals, wicker hats. Only now they're not "exotic" but a wardrobe staple, and cost several times as much.

The turn isn't an accident. After several seasons of fast trends and excess, shoppers want the opposite - items with durability, with cultural identity, with the sense that a hand made them, not a machine. The woven basket is exactly that: a craft as old as the Mediterranean itself, packaged as luxury.

The big fashion houses sniffed it out long ago. Loewe led the movement with its "Paula's Ibiza" collection, elevating the ordinary beach basket into an object of desire. After it came Jacquemus with woven bags and minimalist sandals, Chloé with raffia in a boho spirit, then Saint Laurent and others - all weaving artisanal accessories into sophisticated collections.

And here's the little irony worth noticing. The same item someone's grandmother on the coast bought for a few coins is now sold with a three-figure tag because a big house put its name on it. The trend says "authenticity and tradition" - but it's actually selling exactly what ordinary people had all along, just now at a higher price.

Either way, good news for those who don't want to pay a fortune: a woven bag and raffia sandals go well with almost everything - from summer clothes to more serious outfits for a wedding or celebration. It doesn't need an expensive label to do what it was made for. Sometimes the most on-trend thing is the one already sitting in your closet.