The New Luxury

                                                                                                      Photo by Marco Massaccesi

Luxury is not what it was. After many years of superficial luxury: overt logos and brand names, which began in the 80s with large conglomerates taking over luxury fashion brands and commercializing them, luxury consumers are looking for something more. Belen Echandia calls this ‘New Luxury’.

New luxury is about experiences and not just products. New luxury is handbags produced in traditional ways by true artisans.  It is about craftsmanship, heritage and personalized service.

Intelligent consumers want to go beyond the logo on their bags and accessories. They demand a deeper understanding of the products they buy. Intelligent consumers want to know how, where and by whom their handbags and wallets are made. Goods produced without respect for those making them, what they are made from and how they are made are by definition not luxury goods.

Belen Echandia has identified a number of key New Luxury trends.

1. Experience

Experience is a very important part of buying a luxury product. In years gone by that meant visiting a handbag atelier or store and receiving the red carpet treatment. In today’s world it is just as likely to mean personalized attention to your needs by email or telephone, but the meaning is the same – the focus is on the consumer. To truly serve its customers, a company must have in-depth knowledge of its customers.

2. Customization

Intertwined with experience, customization is the opportunity for consumers to get exactly what they want. True luxury companies focus on individual needs and wants and do everything they can to give consumers what they want.

3. Integrity

Luxury is not just about a logo, a brand name and a price. In truth, it never has been. Traditional, old luxury companies were known for their meticulous attention to detail, expensive, luxurious materials and customer service. But in Deluxe Dana Thomas explains how, in the middle of the 80s, big business started to buy up luxury handbag and fashion companies and turn luxury products into commodities.

In her book, Thomas explores today’s high-end shopping experience and asks some important questions: “What is the new definition of luxury when advertising is targeted mainly toward the mass market? What are we paying for when quality has given way to quantity? Can integrity survive in a corporate culture driven to meet regular growth and profit projections? Is luxury still the best that money can buy?”

New Luxury is about going back to what matters most – heritage, respect, attention to detail and quality. Goods produced without integrity are not luxury goods at all.

4. Uniqueness

True luxury must have an element of uniqueness. It is no fun walking around as a replica of someone else. It must have a certain exclusivity – although others may own the same product, to be truly luxurious it must not be ubiquitous. Customizing a handbag is the perfect example of uniqueness – in many cases you will be the only person with that exact bag. Rarity is a luxury, but more than anything, luxury is the ability to personalize a product, to add your own stamp and to participate in its production.

5. Purpose

Whilst luxury is to some extent superfluous, it must also have an element of purpose. It is truly luxurious to find a handbag which looks and feels luxurious and whose designers have thought carefully about how you will use it. Determining what consumers need from their bags should be a large part of the design process.

6. Passion

Luxury goods must be produced with an element of passion, of love for the work that goes into them. It is the opposite of the cold nature of a production-line process. Human craftsmanship, the fingerprint of the artisan, knowing that your goods were produced by a real person putting real care and attention into the work they do for you.

Jackie Cawthra is the Founder and Creative Director of Belen Echandia, a socially responsible handbag and fashion brand based in London. 

Belen Echandia bags are produced exclusively by expert artisans in an Italian atelier. All Belen Echandia bags are produced with integrity and attention to detail.  The company is the only luxury company to offers a full bespoke online customization service on Italian-made handbags.  Every style is available to custom order, just how you like it.  The Company has been featured in major fashion magazines such as Vogue, Instyle and its bags have graced the front cover of Grazia on several occasions.

The Florence is a gorgeous little cross body satchel. It has a slightly more structured look than our bags usually do, but it remains comfortable and soft against the body. Since the first question we are asked with small to medium bags is how much can be carried inside them, we thought an interior shot of this bag would be useful. Here you can see that despite its compact size Belen Echandia’s Florence bag has 3 separate compartments to help you stay organized. Here’s what we put into the large compartment:

1. Python wallet;
2. Small 7″ (18cm) tablet computer;
3. Business card holder full of cards; and
4. Phone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was still a little space to fit a few more things in the inside zip and/or front pocket, and as you can see from the picture below, it doesn’t look at all packed out from the side, either. The Florence was another fashion editor’s favourite at our press day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of our professional pictures to show you how it looks inside and close-up. There is also a spin shot on our website and we’re hoping to snap a quick picture of one of us wearing it shortly so you can get an idea how it looks ahead of our campaign shots.

 

Our spring summer 2012 line sheets are now available for preview.  We will add all the new styles to our website over the coming ays so you can order your favourite colour in advance and have it delivered early next year.  The Cannes shoulder bag is the first to go up, here.

Disclaimer: this is not the BE official model shoot, it is just me on my blog showing how the bags hang on a real person.

Here is the link to the full SS12 line sheet: http://www.youblisher.com/p/209746-BELEN-ECHANDIA-SS2012/

Every day for the next 6 days we will upload informal pictures of each new style, discuss each one in detail and show how it hangs and can be worn.   I took some pictures whilst previewing the new collection, so you can see how each one looks on a person of average height (5ft 5″ to be precise).  Today’s first entry is the Cannes Shoulder Bag (full size) in whiskey chevre.

My first thought when I tried on the first prototype of this bag empty was that the rolled handles , which I designed for comfort, might fall off my shoulder.  But as soon as I put in my wallet and cell-phone, they stayed put very comfortably.  My second thought was – This bag is amazing!  The Cannes is a lightweight bag.  We made the handle drop long enough to fit very comfortably on the shoulder.  You can open and close the side pockets whilst the bag is still on your shoulder, which is useful if you need your phone or something else close to hand.  The front pockets are more for decoration, but they are also useful and deep enough to fit a phone or a couple of small items.

You can cinch in the sides of this bag with the drawstring, but this time from the inside of the bag instead of the outside.  The bag also has two magnets, making it a very secure style.   The Cannes is also really comfortable when worn crossbody.  The handles fold down very easily and they don’t look at all awkward.  As you can see, the bag is quite deep but moulds softly against the body.

The Cannes is available for SS12 pre-order in chocolate matte and whiskey matte calfskin as well as sand and whiskey chevre. If you would like to pre-order it in a different colour, please ask about the specific colour you want and we may be able to help.

Pre-order HERE