Models
The Balenciaga Hourglass
By the Encore Luxe specialists · Updated October 2026
Cristóbal Balenciaga was known as the architect of couture. His dresses and coats were sculpted around the body, often drawing in the waist and rounding the hips into a strong, clean curve. The Hourglass bag brings that silhouette to leather. Its curved base gives a simple top-handle bag a shape you recognise from across a room.
Key facts
| House | Balenciaga, founded by Cristóbal Balenciaga in 1917, Paris house from 1937 |
| Introduced | 2019 |
| Designer | Demna |
| Signature details | Curved hourglass base, B hardware, top handle |
| Carry | Top handle, shoulder or crossbody strap |
A couture shape
Balenciaga founded his first house in San Sebastián, Spain, in 1917 and opened in Paris in 1937. His work was defined by structure and proportion: the balloon skirt, the sack dress, the cocoon coat. The Hourglass, introduced in 2019 under creative director Demna, borrows that structural language. The body of the bag is crisp and boxy, but its base sweeps upward at each side, so the bag seems to stand on a narrow waist.
Details
- The base: the curve that gives the bag its name.
- The B: a sculpted metal B on the flap, Balenciaga's initial.
- The handle: a single rolled top handle.
- The strap: detachable and adjustable, for shoulder or crossbody wear.
- Leathers: smooth box calf for a crisp line, and grained or embossed finishes; black is the classic.
We have a Balenciaga Hourglass small top-handle bag in black in the shop now.
Wearing it
The Hourglass is an architectural bag that suits clean, minimal clothes: tailoring, knitwear, a plain coat. Carried by its handle it looks formal; worn crossbody it is easy and modern. The small size carries the essentials and suits evening as well as day.
Sizes
The Hourglass has been made in several sizes. The XS is a compact evening bag for a phone and cards. The small carries the essentials of a day, with a little room for sunglasses or a small wallet. Larger sizes, and versions with a wider body, have been made too. Across sizes the proportions stay the same: a crisp, boxy upper body and that distinctive sweep of the base.
Within Balenciaga
The Hourglass sits alongside the house's other modern signatures. Where the earlier City bag of the 2000s was soft, slouchy and covered in studs and tassels, the Hourglass is sculpted and restrained. It reflects a broader turn at the house back towards Cristóbal Balenciaga's interest in structure, and it has become one of the most recognised Balenciaga bags of recent years.
Care
- Protect the base. The curved base takes the weight when the bag is set down; place it on a clean, smooth surface.
- Mind the corners of the curve, which are the first areas to show rubbing.
- Store it stuffed so the body keeps its crisp line.
- Wrap the B hardware in tissue when storing, so it does not press into the flap.
See our leather handbag care guide.
Authenticating Balenciaga
We examine the leather, the shape and symmetry of the base, edge finishing, stitching, hardware engravings and the interior label and stamps. Read our Balenciaga brand guide or browse Balenciaga in our shop.
Questions we’re often asked
- Why is it called the Hourglass?
The bag's base curves inward like a cinched waist, echoing the hourglass silhouette that Cristóbal Balenciaga often sculpted in his couture.
- When was the Hourglass introduced?
Balenciaga introduced the Hourglass in 2019, under creative director Demna.
- What sizes is the Hourglass made in?
It has been made in several sizes, including XS and small, with larger versions too. The small size carries a phone, cards and keys.
- How is the Hourglass carried?
By its top handle, or on the shoulder or across the body with its detachable strap.