Tory Burch found her next bag in a quilted chair at her Caribbean estate on Antigua. The house once belonged to Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon, the American philanthropist, horticulturist and art collector. ELLE describes the find differently, as a tufted cushion Burch came across while restoring the Antigua home.
Traditional quilted upholstery uses buttons to pull the fabric into dips. Burch replaced those buttons with a grid of crisscrossing knots. She says the change reflects Mellon’s “perfectly imperfect” approach to handbag design, and her maxim that “nothing should be noticed.”
Burch’s reworking of inherited craft has parallels elsewhere, such as Metamorphic Yiayia Bag Honors Greek Heritage, which reshapes tradition into a handbag with cultural roots.
The Tory Burch Bunny Knot
The Bunny Knot bag debuted in Tory Burch’s autumn/winter 2026 collection. Burch framed the season as a study of the archetypes in a woman’s wardrobe. The quilting is rendered in leather, and the knots are cast in metal.
Each bag has a flap, a shoulder strap and the brand’s double-T clasp. The flap partly hides the clasp. Bluefly describes the strap as chain.
Burch called the collection “a meditation on what endures, classics shaped by history and utility, made personal through our own stories and experience.” The lineup also included embroidered cardigans, Shetland wool sweaters and references to her father’s wardrobe.
Why Mellon is at the center
Burch wrote the foreword to Bunny Mellon Style, a 2022 book about Mellon’s approach to dress. She calls Mellon the collection’s patron saint. “The mix reflects how women dress now: by instinct, not rules,” Burch said. “No one exemplified this quite like Bunny Mellon.”
ELLE notes that the knot is built from a stitch of two interlinking loops that echo the double-T logo. The name comes from Mellon, not from a rabbit motif. Burch made the detail a new house code.
Amelia Gray walked the bag at the fall/winter 2026 runway show. Alex Consani and Awar Odhiang star in the first Bunny Knot campaign. ELLE reports that Amanda Seyfried quickly adopted the style.
Price, sizes and materials
ELLE puts the Bunny Knot Shoulder Bag under $500. It compares that figure with Chanel’s 2.55 bag, priced at $13,800. The Tory Burch bag comes in two sizes and several materials. ELLE’s editors pick classic black leather as their top choice.
Bluefly lists a Toffee suede version at $821.16, down from $934.00, a 12 percent saving. The retailer marks the sale as final. The listing gives the bag’s dimensions as 15.5 cm high, 25.5 cm wide and 6 cm deep. The body is 100 percent bovine suede, with lambskin trim and a polyurethane lining. It is made in Vietnam.
The ELLE and Bluefly prices do not match. The sources do not explain the gap, though material and retailer may account for it.
Pynck, a fashion site, reports that each knot is placed by hand and has exactly 10 stitches. The post is dated October 27, 2026. This is the site’s own description, and the other sources do not confirm it.
ELLE says the motif appears across the fall collection. Flats carry diamond-shaped quilting. Cardigans and button-up shirts feature crisscrossed brass knots. Heels and loafers use the detail as sleek hardware. ELLE says the motif leaves room for Bunny belt buckles, stud earrings and brooches, though it gives no release dates.
The knot motif also extends into footwear, and Dior’s Roadie Boots Reimagine Tweed and Suede shows how another house treats texture and structure in shoes.
A knot meant to go unnoticed has become one of the most visible details in the collection. Burch’s bag takes a quiet detail from Mellon’s home and makes it the label’s signature.
H/T wallpaper.com
Frequently asked questions
Where did Tory Burch get the idea for the Bunny Knot bag?
Burch found the design in a quilted chair at her Caribbean estate on Antigua, a house that once belonged to Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon. Traditional quilted upholstery uses buttons, and Burch replaced those buttons with a grid of crisscrossing knots.
Why is the Tory Burch Bunny Knot bag named Bunny?
The name comes from Bunny Mellon, not from a rabbit motif. Burch made the knot detail a new house code.
What materials and features does the Tory Burch Bunny Knot bag have?
The quilting is rendered in leather and the knots are cast in metal. Each bag has a flap, a shoulder strap, and the brand’s double-T clasp, which the flap partly hides.
How much does the Tory Burch Bunny Knot bag cost?
ELLE puts the Bunny Knot Shoulder Bag under $500, while Bluefly lists a Toffee suede version at $821.16, down from $934.00. The article notes that the two prices do not match and the sources do not explain the gap.
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