What Makes A Designer Handbag Designer?

#32
ShoppeGirl said:
Hmmm . . . although I don't have access to her financial statements (so I could be wrong), I just feel that her brand power has declined. Much of this is based on my unscientific observation of what bags people use and what ends up in the bargain bins of department stores. Being a handbag lover, I always look at people's bags and I just don't see as many people wearing her bags anymore. When she first came out, I saw a lot of people wearing Kate Spade. Now, I'm hard pressed to find a woman on street who wears a Kate Spade bag. Also, I noticed that many of her bags go on sale quite quickly. It could be because she is churning out more bags . . . but really, churning out more bags and selling them at a lower margin isn't consistent with the idea of building a strong luxury brand. Even Coach isn't doing that right now, as evidenced by their amazing ability to simulataneously increase their volume AND price (a capitalist's dream!) I don't mean to offend any Kate Spade lovers out there, but these are just my two cents.
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I totally agree! I think the glut of fakes that everyone was carrying hurt her, especially that boxy bag that everyone was carrying in the fake form. You know the one that had the kate spade sticker falling off! I wouldnt be surprised if you see her stores slowly starting to close. I have noticed her bags are always on clearance and just sit.
And I never see anyone carrying any of her stuff.
Selena
 
#38
I agree that the brand is in decline, but my opinion on that is that the product has become too "fashiony", and has stepped too far away from classic shapes and beautiful practicality. Recently I've seen too many bold garish prints, wicker baskets, weird shapes, and super-shiny metallics. When you are trying to have mass-appeal in your market, this is suicide.
 
#39
I have a lovely KS bag from a few years ago, I'm trying to remember the model name, but it is a great purple tweed fabric zip top satchel with espresso brown leather details, rather east-west shaped. It is an adorable bag.
 
#41
ShoppeGirl said:
When she first came out, she was quite the buzz and definitely on the road to being a high end designer. But I think over the years, she just didn't capitalize very well on her initial momentum. I think if she adapted a little more to evolving trends rather than sticking to the whole Martha's Vineyard vibe she was trying to create, she would have been much more successful. I would say that her brand could have been on the same level as Marc Jacobs if she had done a better job with her designs and styles. What a waste of a promising start!
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Yeah, that's a really astute observation. I completely agree with you.
 
#43
IntlSet said:
I think it's really interesting how we choose to use the term "low end designer." When I think of low end, I think of Nine West of no-name bags from Mervyn's. Definitely not a $500 Kate Spade bag or a Coach bag. I think those are definitely "bridge" lines or mid-level.
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Are you sure most of her bags are in the 500 range? I mean, I could she her most "expensive" bag being 500, but all in that range? I was recently at a local macys and saw a ton of kate spade. Most of the bags were under the 300 range...
 
#45
Her basic nylon collection is $300 and below but her seasonal stuff starts around $300 and goes up and up. I've seen a bag of hers that was $800.....something about ostrich or something like that.
 
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