11 Backpacks for Your Summer Travels

Grafea, $278.85. Photo from www.asos.com

A thing that I have learned from traveling, aside from avoiding wearing anything above the knee in the premises of St. Peter’s Basilica, is to invest in practical pieces. Aside from a comfortable shoe, a bag that carries everything you need and yet keeps you hands-free without having to sacrifice sartorial satisfaction is an absolute must. To this I answer: a backpack.

To my delight, the accessory once reserved only for the academia has made its way onto the backs of models Cara Delevingne and Liu Wen, and down the runways. The backpack has been reborn in a plethora of designs and materials, from coarsely pebbled lambskins to soft oatmeal wools to exotic quilted skins. Name it, designers have probably done it—talk about making a comeback. The revamped versions are now compact and functional, with just the right size to fit (almost) my entire life inside it, while exploring new destinations.

While the likes of Alexander Wang and The Row are mainly responsible for the backpack’s resurgence, you can now hardly stroll into an H&M or Topshop store without spotting their own refreshing takes. Scan the shelves of high street brands for affordable iterations of this silhouette and purchase one of your own—because every girl who’s off somewhere this summer needs one.