I cannot get tired of repeating myself that the luxury industry is returning to the idea of craftsmanship and individuality. Knowing where the item is made helps (at least for me!) to emphasise its luxury status.
It is common to hear, that designer has moved the productive activities to another country where the labour costs are cheaper. It is an odd reality, a widely spread reality. Given that I am from Italy, more specifically from the Italian region of Sardinia. I order hand-woven fabrics from Sardinia and I want to produce the handbags in Italy (mainland). Easy concept! “Act locally…..think globally”.
I personally think, the accessories market looks too close to what the big names are doing and at the end the collections are too similar and difficult to sell. I have noticed that there is scarce orientation to research, many companies rely too much on current trends forgetting to research more on the future trends and majority do not experiment with new materials.
The luxury handbag market should really consider to concentrate on materials, perhaps eco friendly sustainable materials (produced locally), to regain its exclusivity.