Every balmain bag starts from metal, and the B-Buzz line is the clearest expression of that approach, with the interlocking B rendered large enough to be the primary visual element. The B-Buzz 23 in Jacquard and Leather and the B-Buzz 23 Calfskin Pouch both let that plate dominate a fairly simple body. The Sphynx Mini Bag takes the same idea and shrinks the canvas until the metal is nearly the whole bag. Compare that to a house that starts from a silhouette and adds a clasp, and the difference in thinking is obvious. Balmain designs the jewellery and then builds a bag around it.

Balmain's tote range does something the small bags do not, which is behave normally. The Large Tote in Topstitched Leather uses visible stitching as the only decoration, and it is the most restrained piece in the group. The Small Tote in Smooth Leather and Canvas and the Small Suede B-Army Tote both keep the hardware minimal and let material do the talking. The 1945 Soft monogrammed jacquard tote is the exception, covering the whole surface in the house pattern. The Pulse Bucket Bag sits between the two camps, with a structured body and a single strong metal detail.

Balmain gets typed as a maximalist house and the bag range is more varied than that reputation allows. The topstitched leather tote would pass in any conservative office, and the B-Army suede is genuinely understated. The B-Buzz pieces are the ones people recognise and also the ones that will read as a specific era in a few years. The Sphynx Mini is the most fun and the least practical, as mini bags always are. If you take one thing away, it is that the totes are where the actual craftsmanship shows, because there is nowhere for a large plain panel of leather to hide.