Here’s the Lunar New Year accessory dilemma: you want something festive, but not costume-y. Red, but not aggressively so. Symbolic, but wearable past the 15-day marathon. FURLA’s 2026 Lunar New Year Collection—already online and in selected boutiques ahead of February—doesn’t sidestep the tradition. There’s red. There are horse motifs. But the execution is what sets it apart: maroon over fire-engine red, textured leather over high-gloss lacquer, and charm-sized horses instead of embroidered statements across every surface.
It’s festive, but it doesn’t overwhelm the bag itself. And that restraint is what makes it wearable.
Year of The Horse Symbolism, Sized For Real Life
The Year of the Horse represents speed, independence, and forward movement. Most brands interpret this with galloping horse graphics splashed across everything. FURLA takes a different route—the symbolism is there, but it doesn’t dominate the design.
The bags are designed as companions, not ceremonial objects you’ll use twice and shelve. They need to work across reunion dinners, work lunches, extended family visits, and the weird liminal phase when CNY is technically over but everyone’s still in festive mode.
The IRIDE Mini Hobo comes in a deep gemstone red—more burgundy-maroon than the bright lacquer red saturating most CNY collections. The finish is matte-polished, not glossy. It reads festive without screaming “seasonal limited edition.” The curved silhouette and adjustable strap mean it transitions easily from dinner at your aunt’s place to weekend errands. You could carry this in March without it feeling like a CNY leftover.
The Roxie bucket bag takes a more subtle approach, featuring textured leather, a rounded form, and no visible horse imagery on the bag itself. Pair it with the pony charm (more on that below), and it’s clearly festive. Use it alone, and it’s just a solid everyday bucket bag. That flexibility matters for anyone tired of buying pieces that only work two weeks a year.
Why The Teddy Crossbody isn’t A Gimmick
The IRIDE S Crossbody Teddy could’ve easily skewed novelty—teddy textures can read Build-A-Bear fast. But FURLA pulls it off by keeping the shape compact and the hardware minimal (clean gold-tone accents, no excessive detailing). The plush texture is substantial, not fluffy. It feels reassuring, which matters more than you’d think during Lunar New Year’s social marathon.
You already understand this: comfort as confidence. A bag that feels good to hold isn’t frivolous—it’s functional. Especially when navigating house visits, small talk with extended family, and figuring out when it’s acceptable to return to your usual routine.
This isn’t whimsy for the sake of it. It’s recognising that Lunar New Year, while celebratory, can also be exhausting. A bag that feels like a small grounding detail has actual value.
The Modular Charm Approach
The Allegra leather pony charm is the collection’s most overt nod to the Year of the Horse—articulated panels form a small horse figure in supple leather with flexible movement. But here’s why it works: it’s charm-sized, not bag-dominating. You clip it on for February and remove it when you’re done. That modularity is what makes zodiac motifs bearable—they’re temporary decorations, not permanent design features.
In Singapore, where bag charms carry both cultural and aesthetic weight (just look at the Hermès Rodeo resale market), this feels like knowing rather than trend-chasing. And practically speaking, charms photograph well. On Instagram, XiaoHongShu, wherever people are documenting their CNY outfits, details matter. A charm updates your content without requiring an entirely new bag purchase.
What Actually Differentiates This From Other CNY Collections
The restraint is the point. While other brands go hard on overt symbolism—embroidered horses, coin motifs, explosions of gold hardware—FURLA’s 2026 Lunar New Year Collection approach stays balanced. The “Lantern-Jumping Horse” visual concept nods to traditional imagery without letting it overtake the product itself.
The materials and finishes do the heavy lifting: matte-polished leather instead of patent shine, deeper maroon tones instead of bright festival red, modular charms instead of permanent embellishments. These details mean the bags read as quality pieces that happen to work for Lunar New Year, not Lunar New Year bags that happen to be wearable.
For consumers navigating rising costs and growing fatigue with seasonal consumption (how many CNY capsules do we really need?), this matters. A festive bag shouldn’t just announce the occasion for two weeks. It should earn its place in your rotation well beyond it.
FURLA’s pricing typically sits in the accessible-luxury range—most styles under SGD 1,000—which hits the sweet spot where “treating yourself” doesn’t require financial gymnastics.
Festive, But Not Locked into February
If Lunar New Year is about renewal, what we carry should reflect how we want to move into the year ahead. FURLA’s 2026 Lunar New Year collection doesn’t promise transformation or luck. It offers something more practical: festive pieces designed to outlast the festivities.
The red is there. The horse motifs are there. But the execution—materials, finishes, modularity—means you won’t feel silly pulling these out in April for a regular weekend. And maybe that’s the most contemporary interpretation of tradition: understanding that momentum isn’t about charging ahead at full gallop but moving forward with pieces that actually fit into your life.
One wearable, non-costume-y festive bag at a time.
FURLA’s 2026 Lunar New Year Collection
