Credit: Resee
In recent weeks it is not uncommon to encounter images on social media of people covering their luxury handbags (often Hermès or The Row) with mini raincoats to protect them from the weather. This is an understandable attitude, especially because of the cost that these accessories often have, but also because with the growth of the luxury reselling market, the diktat is to treat one's purchases as true investments, giving oneself the option of eventually reselling them. And there are those who buy without ever even wearing for fear of ruining the product.
But is this really the case? Does a bag have to be as good as new in order not to lose value?
Experts seem to say otherwise. Last year influencer Jenny Walton confessed to the New York Times that when choosing her first Kelly she preferred to get a second-hand one with obvious signs of time than a brand new one: "it looked cooler." And among luxury handbag owners stand out figures like Ashley Olsen, founder of the brand The Row, who often go out with their Margaux, which in the large size costs more than 7 thousand euros, overflowing with items and documents.
After all, Jane Birkin herself, who inspired the Hermès bag of the same name, used to use it without any particular worries: the actress had confessed to the then chief executive of the maison, whom she met on an airplane flight, that she needed a bag that could comfortably hold all the thousands of objects she needed to carry around during the day, soft, capacious and comfortable.
A survey done by the platform TheRealReal reveals that searches for bags "in a good condition," i.e., showing signs of aging, are growing strongly. And brands are also looking for leathers and finishes that reproduce the effect of time on new objects, as Paolo Quirici, Ceo and Founder of David Leather Expressions, reveals.
"A vegetable-tanned leather has its natural course and remains beautiful over time while changing. It is definitely a leather that ages more easily, because it reacts to heat and light having been treated with natural materials, but this is a positive characteristic, which adds beauty to the object. Nowadays, brands provide consumers with a maintenance service, to replace or repair what breaks or deteriorates, such as the most exposed parts."
How then to treat a luxury leather item?
"By just accompanying the aging process in the best way, that is, treating the leather with a simple moisturizer and keeping it clean."
đź–‹: Francesca Zaccagnini
