Most Wanted · Raffia
Everything Raffia
Raffia left the beach. The mistake is wearing it as if it hasn't.
Raffia left the beach. The mistake is wearing it as if it hasn't.
Raffia used to mean a tote that sagged by Thursday and a hat bought at the airport. That version is finished. What replaced it is work: hand-braided, tightly woven, cut like a proper accessory rather than a souvenir.
Loewe, Chloé, The Row and Prada did not put it on the runway so you could wear a picnic basket to dinner. They put it there because the material, done tightly, reads as expensive as leather and lighter than both.
Here is where it goes wrong. Pairing raffia with more raffia — hat, bag, sandal — until you look dressed for a theme. One piece. Everything else should be linen, silk or bare skin.
The four that earn a place: the hat, the bag, the flat, the heel. Pick the one that finishes an outfit you already own.
Mine is The Row Georgica Raffia Tote Bag. One raffia piece, and nothing else woven that day.— K.W., Editor-in-Chief
Wide-brim hat, linen shirt, one gold earring. Leave the matching tote.
A small raffia bag against a black dress. That is the point of the material now.
Head-to-toe holiday. Raffia is a texture, not a destination.
Every piece in the edit — tap to shop.
The wide-brim, the fedora, the bucket — raffia's chicest reinvention. Chloé's wide-brim, Magda Butrym's fedora and Lack of Color's Inca finish an outfit with sun-drenched effortlessness, whether the day calls for a linen dress or a swimsuit and shirt.
Chloé raffia, brown. The brim that finishes a white shirt. No matching tote.
Chloé raffia, yellow. Louder than the brown. Ivory around it, not more yellow.
Butrym fedora, neutral. A hat with a house — wear it with a shirt, not a picnic.
Striped bucket, orange. One pattern on the head. Plain dress.
The Lillian, embellished. The hat is the jewellery. Stop.
The Waverly brim. Wide, so keep the bag small.
The Inca bucket. Useful shade, not a souvenir stall.
The tote, the shoulder, the basket — raffia's most enduring category, and its most quietly luxurious. The Row's Georgica, Chloé's Summer Banana and Loewe's Paula's Ibiza are the pieces that make an outfit feel considered — hand-woven, artisanal, endlessly versatile.
The Georgica. The Row's raffia — a tote, not a beach basket.
The Summer Banana. One raffia bag. The name is already a joke; the outfit should not be.
Paula's Ibiza, medium, logo. The logo is enough. No hat to match.
Paula's Ibiza, top-handle, embellished. Smaller than the tote. Evening-adjacent.
The Ivy. Crochet top-handle. Miu Miu playfulness, one piece.
The Woody basket, large. If you carry this, the hat stays home.
Loewe raffia, large, no extra story. The work tote of this material.
The Goldentime, medium. Zimmermann raffia without a matching everything.
The Soli. Croc-effect raffia. A basket with an opinion.
Tap any piece below to shop the whole edit.
The fisherman, the flat sandal, the slide — raffia's most understated form. Prada's woven, Miu Miu's fisherman and Aquazzura's Serenade slip on with a linen dress, a wide-leg trouser or a caftan, adding texture without effort.
Prada woven raffia. The sandal is the investment. Dress cheaper if you must.
Miu Miu fisherman in raffia. More playful than the Prada. Plain hem.
The Serenade flat. Raffia you can walk in.
Prada raffia sandal, the simpler cut. Buy this if you already own too many ideas.
Raffia-effect on leather. Jacquemus, still a shoe, not a craft project.
The Lynn fisherman. Hearst — grown raffia on the foot.
The Kardia. Leather trim on raffia. Greek, not costume.
Logo on raffia and leather. The logo is the detail. Quiet dress.
The wedge, the platform, the mid-heel — raffia's summer answer to the stiletto. Alaïa's woven wedge, Aquazzura's Bossa Nova platform and Gianvito Rossi's Calypso lift a maxi dress or a caftan with a hand-woven, artisanal finish.
Alaïa raffia wedge, leather trim. Height. Walk the path or skip it.
Bossa Nova 130 platform. Crochet and height — the rest of you severe.
Vivier 60, embellished platform mule. Evening raffia. Black hem.
The Calypso 70. Suede on raffia. A little heel, still a sandal.
The Solena. Leather first, raffia trim. Easier to wear in town.
The Gavi 40 wedge. Less famous, same rule: walk in it.
Every piece in this edit, by the houses behind it. Explore them all.
One material, four hours of the day — hand-woven, hand-braided, hand-crocheted. Wear it everywhere, and let raffia do the rest.— ESVRA