Marc Jacobs’s Stam bag is the handbag launched in 2005 and named after Canadian model Jessica Stam.
Jessica Stam was closely associated with Marc Jacobs during the mid-2000s, when she became one of the era’s prominent runway and editorial models. The bag’s naming followed a fashion-industry tradition of dedicating a design to a muse or collaborator.
The Stam is recognizable for its quilted body, rounded or bowling-bag-like profile, chain-and-leather shoulder strap, and prominent clasped top. Its proportions and decorative chain helped place it within the period’s highly visible “it bag” culture.
The design is sometimes confused with Marc Jacobs’s later Snapshot, a much smaller camera-style crossbody bag with a boxy rectangular body. The Stam is softer, roomier, and strongly associated with its quilted construction and heavy chain handle.