"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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• 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.

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."