Transumers prefer to rent instead of buy. They don't just rent apartments but products too - everything from designer handbags to electronics. Reinier Evers of Trendwatching told the AP that the transumer lifestyle is "less about treasure and more about pleasure." Cassandra Smith is a transumer. She spends $800 a month renting designer handbags. Take a look:
Kate Moss and Daria Werbowy are the faces of Longchamp's Fall/Winter 2009 campaign. The campaign which features the models posing in front of several faceless men in uniforms was shot by photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. Kate Moss has done several Longchamp campaigns over the past few years.
Lauren Bush is launching a FEED 2 Kenya bag that will be sold exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman for $195. WWDreports that the each bag uses local Masai fabric and hand beadwork. The bags take local Kenyan artisans a day and a half to bead. $100 from the sale of each bag will go to the UN World Food Program's School Feeding operations in Kenya. You can read more about the FEED project here.
Reuters reports that French luxury goods group Hermes now has its own crocodile farms in Australia so it can meet demand for its handbags. Hermes CEO Patrick Thomas told Reuters that it can take three to four crocodiles to make one handbag. The article says the crocodiles have to be separated so they don't get bite marks on their skin from other crocodiles.
"It can take three to four crocodiles to make one of our bags so we are now breeding our own crocodiles on our own farms, mainly in Australia," Patrick Thomas told the Reuters Global Luxury Summit in Paris.
Hermes already faces a major challenge producing 3,000 crocodile bags a year, Thomas said, adding: "The world is not full of crocodiles, except the stock exchange!"
Crocodile farming can be expensive, with the reptiles having to be kept apart in separate rooms to protect their skins from bites, but even so allowances have to be made for natural losses that can amount to around a third of bred crocodiles.
Hermes has hired 50-100 leather workers this year but still face massive over-demand. In an earlier post about Birkin bags we mentioned that Hermes is working to reduce the long wait times for its coveted bags.
Paris-born Farrah Delaunay first entered the world of fashion as a model working for designers Azzedine Alaia, Paco Rabanne and Dolce & Gabbana. She recently launched her own unique handbag collection called Bambou. The handbags incorporate indigo-resist dyed cloths from West Africa. Farrah's handbag collection can be found at farrah-delaunay.com. You can also find photos of the handbags and an interview with Farrah Delaunay here.
Astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Sally Ride, and Jim Lovell star in Louis Vuitton's new ad campaign. The campaign features Louis Vuitton's $1,530 "Icare" travel bag. The Wall Street Journalreports that the bag is named after Icarus, who died when he flew too close to the sun in greek mythology.
The campaign, with agency Ogilvy & Mather, marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon and is intended to be "an homage to these great travelers," said Antoine Arnault, Vuitton’s head of communications and son of Chairman Bernard Arnault, the richest man in France. He said the astronauts each donated a "significant" portion of their modeling fee to Al Gore's Climate Project, though he declined to specify how much.
The astronauts are the latest in a quirky series of Vuitton spokespeople, among them Mikhail Gorbachev, Catherine Deneuve and Keith Richards, who have appeared in the brand's "Core Values" campaigns. (Obviously, these pitches are aimed at aging boomers, not trend-chasing younger folks. For them, the company has racier ads featuring models and Scarlett Johansson.)
Sitting on the hood of the astronauts' pickup truck, unidentified, is Vuitton’s $1,530 "Icare" travel bag named for Icarus, the hero of Greek mythology who dies when he flies too close to the sun. Is that a little weird? Arnault says when he saw the bag, he thought "what a nice symbol and coincidence! We are representing these people who went closer to the sun than anybody."
The WSJ says the astronauts donated part of their modeling fee to Al Gore’s Climate Project. The new Louis Vuitton campaign has its own website at louisvuittonjourneys.com that is a running a countdown. Here's a behind-the-scenes video from the campaign.
A post on the Big Money blog about luxury items as an investment started a string of stories about Victoria Beckham's Birkin bag collection. The blogger at Big Money estimated that her collection could be worth as much as $2 million.
The Hermes Birkin bag is often touted as such an "investment." While classic in sensibility, the Birkin became a badge of excessive disposable income during the "Because I'm Worth It" era. Case in point: Pop icon Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckam reportedly owns about 100 of them, a collection perhaps worth $2 million. The more basic Birkin bags retail for between $6,000 and $7,000; Forbes listed a crocodile Birkin (with nearly 10 carats of diamonds on the hardware) as being one of the world's most extravagant handbags when it sold for $120,000 at auction house Doyle New York.
It's not clear exactly how much Posh's collection of Birkin bags is worth but it is certainly a big collection that is worth a lot of money. Paparazzi photos have shown her carrying many different Birkin bags including a diamond-encrusted Birkin bag called the Himilayan, which is said to be worth $120,000.
Luxist notes that there is a book called Bringing Home The Birkin about Michael Tonello, who has made money reselling Birkin bags to people who don't want to wait on the Hermes waiting list. The Boston Globe has a story about this Birkin hunter.
The Daily Maildiscusses the idea of Birkin bags as an investment. The bags actually depreciate in value but much more slowly than many luxury items. Part of the reason the Birkin bags depreciate in value slowly is because of the wait time at Hermes to get one. Hermes says they are working to reduce the wait time.
A spokeswoman for Hermès explained that the lengthy production times were due to a combination of the advanced craftsmanship involved in making the bag, and the limited availability of particular colours or skins.
Communications director Fiona Rushton said: 'If someone is looking for a classic Birkin bag - in a regular leather, colour and size - the lead time is significantly lower.
'It is not and has never been, Hermes intention to create an artificial waiting list. All long lead times experienced by customers are the consequence of capacity limitations or shortage in certain types, sizes or colours of skins.
'Over the last few years, Hermes has embarked on an ambitious program of hiring and training new craftsmen (and women) ... the production is now raising and we are happy to announce a significant reduction in lead time.'
For lucky owners, the sought-after bag will not depreciate in value like a car. Given the wait for a brand new version, second-hand boutiques and auction houses are able to charge a premium, so desperate are fashionistas to get their hands on the product.
Birkin Bags will retain more of their value than other bags but luxury handbags cannot be considered an investment because they generally decrease in value.
Marion Cotillard's campaign as the face of the Lady Dior handbags kicks of with a film noir short called "The Lady Noire Affair." The Alfred-Hitchcock-inspired film is directed by Olivier Dahan and shows Marion in the midst of a police investigation in Paris. Peoplesays the full film will be available on Dior.com on May 20th.
LVMH Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy is restructuring the management its U.S. fashion division. The company says the moves are to prepare for growth in certain brands, but it's more likely that the changes are part of a plan to help the luxury giant remain competitive in the the lagging U.S. economy.
Vira Capeci, president of Givenchy USA, will also become president of Celine USA. Next month, Celine will unveil the first designs by its star creative director, Phoebe Philo.
Capeci will report to Givenchy chief executive officer Fabrizio Malverdi and Jean-Jacques Guevel, Celine's vice president of sales. At Celine USA, Capeci succeeds Simona Zerchi, who had joined the LVMH brand last year from Prada USA Corp.
Luca Voarino, president of Pucci USA, is also expanding his responsibilities and taking on business development in America of Loewe, a Spanish brand on the rise under the creative direction of Stuart Vevers.
In his roles, Voarino reports to Pucci ceo Didier Drouet and Xavier de Royere, Loewe's senior vice president of worldwide retail.
The luxury market has been hard hit as consumer spending has plummeted.
Windsong Brands, LLC, the private equity firm, has purchased the
Carlos Falchi brand of accessories and handbags.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Windsong managing director Stuart Jamieson said Falchi's sales volume for the signature collection is $10 million and the firm intends to grow revenues of the overall brand to $250 million in the next few years. Jamieson and William Sweedler, chairman and chief executive officer of Windsong Brands, will serve as co-chairmen of Falchi.
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Falchi will act as chief designer and creative director, and will no longer be involved in operational activities. He will conduct more personal appearances and focus on merchandising. Falchi recently had a successful personal appearance at Bergdorf Goodman, in which the retailer curated a retrospective of his 37 years in handbags. The exhibit will travel to additional stores in the future.
Windsong believes it can turn Falchi into a $250 million a year business. The firm already has invested in Ellen Tracy, Caribbean Joe, Joe's Jeans and Field & Stream. We're glad Carlos is staying on with the company; we've loved his handbags for years. It will be interesting to see what the company can do with a major infusion of capital.
Hermes reported
a 3.2% increase in first-quarter sales to $560.3 million. The increase was due to a rise in sales of leather goods.
Beyond "persistently brisk demand for leather bags," silk scarves and fashion accessories also powered sales in the three months ended March 31, but Hermes recorded a "pronounced downturn" in perfumes, watches and tableware.
Asia-Pacific remained the most buoyant region as the French luxury firm logged an 18.3 percent gain at constant exchange rates, a stark contrast against Japan, where sales plummeted 19.3 percent. Sales in the Americas receded 5.3 percent.
All the reports from luxury companies indicate that watch sales have fallen off a cliff since the recession began. Apparently, buying a new watch is one of the first things people cross off their to do lists during an economic downturn.
Sea Bags makes bags from recycled sails. The bags come in three sizes large, medium and small. Prices range from $29 to $180. You can see all the bags here.
Here are some facts about the bags:
Each bag is designed and inspired from the sail itself and all vary in texture and fabric.
All are durable, water resistant and washing-machine friendly.
Most of our bags (like most sails) are white or off white dacron with a colored design on them but we use all sails from canvas to Kevlar.
Each Sea Bag has rope handles that are hand-spliced in our shop in Portland, Maine - the splice is a nautical skill and what differentiates a Sea Bag.
Sea Bags totes come in small, medium and large and a variety of designs and colors.
Customization is one of the big trends online these days. Vogue UKreports that luxury handbag company Belen Echandia is offering some couture customization by letting customers select extra details on their handbags. These details include straps, zippers, studs and having a name or message stamped inside the handbag.
After selecting their favourite leather, lining and hardware, customers then have free reign to choose from a list of extra details, such as straps, extra zippers, studs and a name or message to be stamped inside. The bags, renowned for their super-soft leather and subtle quirky detailing, will be individual to each customer but, in case the burden of creation is too much for you, the Belen Echandia creative team will be on hand to advise you throughout the process.
"We began making bespoke bags a few years ago after receiving requests for bags we did not have in stock," owner Jackie Cawthra revealed. "At first we juggled them around store orders but the demand got so high that we added it as a standalone service. The demise of fast fashion has increased demand even further. Our bags are all hand-made by artisans in a small Italian atelier using old-world methods. We can tell women where, how and by whom their bags are made and they love that."
You can find Belen Echandia's customizable handbag feature called BE Couture here. You select the handbag style, color and leather you like, then you can add hardware, lining and extras. A helpful faq can be found here. The handbags start at £450 (about $675 U.S).
WWD says that Karl Lagerfeld has selected British singer Lily Allen as the face of a new Chanel handbag campaign. The Lily Allen photoshoot for Chanel will take place next week.
Lily Allen's music is considerably more popular in the UK than it is in the U.S. Her two most recent single releases from her It's Not Me, It's You album are "Not Fair" and "The Fear." Lily also did a cover of Britney Spears' "Womanizer" song - see here.