It was the legendary Fashion icon Coco Chanel, who added the string to a purse, and bestowed fashion with one of the most important accessories of today. And it was the French high fashion house, Hermes, which introduced the first leather handbag thus giving ideas to luxury fashion brands such as Fendi, Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Christian Dior to design exquisite styles of handbags.
The high-priced designer handbags were coined as 'It-Bags' or 'Hobos', which soon became the ultimate status symbols for women. Further, films and fashion world's celebrities enhanced the charm of these handbags through their lifestyles. Though it's fashionable to carry a handbag, the criterion is always comfort when it comes to buying one. "Women prefer stylish handbags to look different from the crowd and to be noticed from the crowd, as modernism in fashion has been able to personify the timeless woman of taste and beauty," says ace model Sheetal Menon.
Despite the passage of time, stylish designs, luxury labels, exclusive craftsmanship and high prices of these handbags have made women of all ages to look at them as 'a fashion item to die for'.
In the globalised era, the craze of women's handbags is surging and despite the presence of lavish high fashion brands, some affordable brands like Hidesign, Baggit, Da Milano, Mandarina Duck, Kipling and many more are playing their cards well to get a bigger pie. These brands are also providing the same benefits in terms of looks and styles through their seasonal collections.
Hidesign, India's answer to global high fashion brands, is enthusiastically rubbing shoulders with the international fashion idols in the segment. "The brand has been accepted internationally as it is an original product and not a copy of what is being done by the other brands. It enunciates a unique language through its designs," says Dilip Kapur, president, Hidesign.
Surprisingly, Mr. Kapur never thought of such a remarkable success of the brand. "No, not at all. It is just started as a hobby; which expressed my creativity and a desire to express what I thought should be a natural product, instead of the uniformly flat and synthetic looking products, which I saw in the market."
India is one of the emerging markets, which is channelised by the fashion enthusiastic customers, especially working women, who now love stylish handbags not jholas. But getting the heavy-priced designer handbags are not a piece of cake for everyone. "The prices of designer handbags have been rising rapidly for the last several years and the handbag market is also facing intense competition from other accessories like jewellery and watches. However, we feel that the growth of handbag sales is increasing gradually,"explains Kim Virk, GM, Carlton London.
Apart from Kim, Nina Lekhi, owner of Baggit brand is also optimistic about her brand's handbags growth as the rising strength of working and professional women are 'image-conscious'. "My brand represents a genre of women, who deem bags as an integral part of their singular style statement. Though we follow trends, yet our bags are a blend of comfort and style."
Her brand caters to a large segment of women from college going teenagers to professionals to formal social engagements, while adding stores in metros. "Several people identify with the brand as we do not use leather. Killing animals is not a fashion requirement," adds Nina.
No doubt, stylish designs and innovations are the vital part of these brands to lure their core customers. According to Sahil Malik, MD, Da Milano, "The growth of Indian market is fairly aggressive, where women handbags are one of the key accessories, which are driving the fashion world."
Though the presence of fakes and replicas in the local markets is the biggest problem for these brands yet the
brandmania engrossed consumers are becoming more demanding; therefore, now the handbags are more colourful and highly decorated with sequins, beads, tassels or embroidery.
According to actress Ferena Wazeir, "Most women prefer the funky styles, which go according to their mood or style of the moment in order to make a lasting impression. They adopt new styles to live in the modern world yet; they adopt fashion for everyday."
Apart from eco-friendly nurtured leather, the imported faux skin is the budding penchant of the fashionable women. "Modern handbags are representing the modernistic ideal, which are made of a combination of art and fashion to define a modern woman," believes model and actress Monikangana Dutta.
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