Bags of Fun
18 March 2021
How designer handbags have grown into a key sector of the trade.
Poppy McKenzie Smith
Poppy McKenzie Smith writes for The Telegraph about old, fast cars and spends most of her time at auctions encouraging other people to buy them. In 2018, she was involved in the sale of a 1961 Aston Martin which became the most expensive British car ever sold in Europe.
Hermès Pelouse Swift Kelly 25, c. 2010. Sold for £9,437 inc. premium at Bonhams in October 2020.
Image courtesy of Bonhams.
Despite Lady Bracknell’s infamous belief to the contrary, ‘a handbag’ is no longer a dirty word.
In recent years, the popularity of luxury handbag collecting has soared to the extent that all major auction houses boast their own dedicated departments filled with specialists versed in the language of Birkins and Kellys.
One such specialist is Meg Randell of Bonhams, who established the Designer Handbags and Fashion department in January 2020 and has seen sales go from strength to strength despite initial eyebrow raising from some of the more ‘traditional’ auction house departments.
The popularity of designer handbags is nothing new, but their status alongside art, jewellery, wine and furniture in the collecting world certainly is. As new generations of collectors emerge and establish their tastes, they appear to be looking increasingly for items which can be used, loved, and even shown off as opposed to being kept under lock and key.
A rare, matte white Himalaya Niloticus Crocodile Birkin 30 with palladium hardware - Hermès, 2019. Sold for £125,000 at Christie’s in November 2019.
Credit: Christie’s Images Ltd. 2021.
With the ubiquitous presence of social media and identity curation, younger collectors are keen to own items which can make a statement in a restaurant, on the tube or simply walking down the street. With an average lower buying power than previous generations, they want people to know about their important investments - they are likely rarer, have taken longer to achieve and are therefore a source of pride. With house prices remaining well out of the reach of the average twenty-something, a designer bag is an attainable luxury which has the power to make its carrier feel adult and successful. Besides, there seems little point in collecting art if you can’t even hang it in your rented flat.
Not that it is purely the young and Instagram-hungry collectors who are fawning over wares from Chanel, Hermès and Prada. “We have an enormous range of clients,” explains Randell, “from different backgrounds and with varying budgets.” The gender split of her customer base is roughly 70-30 women and men, and they are scattered across the globe. Unlike with decorative arts and furniture, there appears to be a general global consensus as to what constitutes a desirable designer handbag. A 60 year old Japanese handbag enthusiast will likely have similar collection aims to a 30 year old from Spain. The ‘holy grail’ items haven’t waned in popularity in the decades since their respective launches, a testament to a well-designed handbag’s enduring appeal.
Consider the Hermès Birkin bag. Despite being launched in the 80s amidst towering shoulder pads and lurid leg warmers, it is still considered one of the most desirable designer items a person can own. Birkins account for 5 of the ten most valuable handbags ever sold at auction, with prices reaching $379,000 for particularly rare - and diamond encrusted -samples. Alligator skin designs are among the most costly, with prices at auction settling at around £25,000.
The Chanel flap bag - also known as the 2.55 - and the Hermès Kelly (prices for which can reach five-figure sums at auction) have retained their value similarly gracefully, and carry their sixty-something years with admirable elegance. “Classic designer bags are an easy way to show the world who you are” explained Randell, “and there is the added bonus that you don’t have to worry about them suiting you or being the wrong size.”
Chanel Black Lambskin Jumbo Single Flap Bag, c. 1991-94. Sold for £ 3,562 inc. premium at Bonhams in October 2020.
Image courtesy of Bonhams.
Not that collectors are selecting bags for their looks alone. The craftsmanship involved in the production of a designer handbag is immense - all Birkin bags are made by just one artisan in the Hermes workshop - and their value reflects the painstaking efforts required to create them. Consumers are beginning to rail against fast fashion and mass produced accessories, and increasingly want to be able to trace their purchases to ensure not just authenticity, but ethical production. Mindful consumerism is on the rise, and green is very much the new black when it comes to fashion. The fashion congnoscenti are increasingly opting for vintage or ‘pre-loved’ clothing and accessories for reasons of sustainability as much as individuality.
Keeping a pre-loved piece alive and in use is also becoming easier, with ‘handbag spas’ popping up across the world. Just as in art restoration, dedicated establishments will take in bags and restore them to their former glory in painstaking processes which can take several months. Leather can be dyed, stitching altered and interior silks replaced in pursuit of perfection. However these services, particularly if offered in-house, can cost thousands of pounds.
Of course, some collectors would rather have perfection to begin with. Randell notes that many clients want bags that look as if they have been bought directly from the shop, but those looking for rarer designs, for example 90’s Chanel pieces, will overlook imperfections in order to obtain the missing piece of their collection. But it will cost them - a lambskin Chanel flap bag recently sold at Bonhams for £3,500, more than triple its original purchase price in the early 90s.
Formerly dismissed as simply avid shoppers, handbag collectors are surely enjoying the vindication of their investments. Art Market Research reported an 83% increase in the designer handbag market in 2020. Indeed, many handbags are showing to be holding their investment value better than classic cars, a fact which may bring a wry smile to the faces of the nation’s women.
This is a sector on the rise, and it shows little sign of slowing down. The combined value of designer bags sold at auction in 2019 reached nearly £30M, and major houses appear to be optimistic of continued success with dozens of sales planned for 2021. Collectors are snapping up handbags like they are going out of style, which seemingly they simply won’t.
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