New changes regarding the Damier Ebène Speedy (and quality in general)?

[ThePinkPoodle]

Dear PurseForum-members,

the PurseForum has always been the place for me to research upcoming purchases and evaluating, if a bag would work out for me or not (back then as a non-member) and now I am finally in action myself.

Since I have established a (for me) very satisfying collection and since I have noticed quite a few (in my opinion, not very favourable changes) in Louis Vuitton’s marketing strategies (price increases while lowering the quality, throwing bags onto the market and then taking them back after only a few months to put their customers – as I assume – under pressure to buy them) I have generally grown more and more skeptical of the whole brand, which I used to be a very big fan of, and therefore do not buy nearly as much as I used to.

Around two weeks ago my mother wanted to complete her small, but excellent collection by adding a Speedy B 30 in Damier Ebène Canvas. We (as usual) ordered the bag online and even though I knew, that I would look very thoroughly at all the details, because of bad experiences in the past (e.g. an ordered Nice BB, that someone definitely already had travelled with, judging the condition it was in), this time I was more confused, than I could have ever expected:

At first glance the bag was fine (and „Made in France“, which is always nice). There were no signs of any use (as it should be) and everything seemed great, but something was… odd. At first, I did not know what it was, that bothered me, but then I noticed, that the color of the treated letaher was not the usual neutral-toned chocolate-brown, but more so a cool, grey-toned brown and the finish was not shiny, but more so satiny/matte (my Speedy B 25 is on the left in the photos for comparison). I almost thought, they must have skipped the last step in production…

Since my mother did not want to keep the bag after I had pointed out the difference, we drove to our local LV-store, where they did not have the Speedy-model (which I almost could not believe, since it is one of their classics), that we wanted. So we drove to a different store (which is almost a 45 minute-drive away), where they had two bags left, but the waiting time (have they always had waiting lists in store?) was 1 hour (Okay… bye!), therefore we could not look at the bags in person and see, if their leather-treated-parts were different, too – plus: we were quite fed up at this point. My mother now bought her Speedy pre-loved and in the previous „style“ (if the ordered Speedy is the „new look“).

My question is: Did anyone notice the same difference with their recently bought Speedy/Damier Ebène-bag(s)? If so, do you think, this is an intentional change regarding the look of the bag or do you think (which is, to be honest, my assumption), that they might have lowered the quality-standards/made the production-process easier, which results in a different look?

Thank you for taking the time to read my first thread – I am excited for your experiences and opinions!

 

[fabuleux]

Dear PurseForum-members,

the PurseForum has always been the place for me to research upcoming purchases and evaluating, if a bag would work out for me or not (back then as a non-member) and now I am finally in

Since I have established a (for me) very satisfying collection and since I have noticed quite a few (in my opinion, not very favourable changes) in Louis Vuitton’s marketing strategies (price increases while lowering the quality, throwing bags onto the market and then taking them back after only a few months to put their customers – as I assume – under pressure to buy them) I have generally grown more and more skeptical of the whole brand, which I used to be a very big fan of, and therefore do not buy nearly as much as I used to.

Around two weeks ago my mother wanted to complete her small, but excellent collection by adding a Speedy B 30 in Damier Ebène Canvas. We (as usual) ordered the bag online and even though I knew, that I would look very thoroughly at all the details, because of bad experiences in the past (e.g. an ordered Nice BB, that someone definitely already had travelled with, judging the condition it was in), this time I was more confused, than I could have ever expected:

At first glance the bag was fine (and „Made in France“, which is always nice). There were no signs of any use (as it should be) and everything seemed great, but something was… odd. At first, I did not know what it was, that bothered me, but then I noticed, that the color of the treated letaher was not the usual neutral-toned chocolate-brown, but more so a cool, grey-toned brown and the finish was not shiny, but more so satiny/matte (my Speedy B 25 is on the left in the photos for comparison). I almost thought, they must have skipped the last step in production…

Since my mother did not want to keep the bag after I had pointed out the difference, we drove to our local LV-store, where they did not have the Speedy-model (which I almost could not believe, since it is one of their classics), that we wanted. So we drove to a different store (which is almost a 45 minute-drive away), where they had two bags left, but the waiting time (have they always had waiting lists in store?) was 1 hour (Okay… bye!), therefore we could not look at the bags in person and see, if their leather-treated-parts were different, too – plus: we were quite fed up at this point. My mother now bought her Speedy pre-loved and in the previous „style“ (if the ordered Speedy is the „new look“).

My question is: Did anyone notice the same difference with their recently bought Speedy/Damier Ebène-bag(s)? If so, do you think, this is an intentional change regarding the look of the bag or do you think (which is, to be honest, my assumption), that they might have lowered the quality-standards/made the production-process easier, which results in a different look?

Thank you for taking the time to read my first thread – I am excited for your experiences and opinions!

Yes the leather has changed several months ago to a less-plastic-y finish. My SA said it’s to avoid cracking of the leather and peeling of the coating on DE pieces. It’s been discussed at length in other threads.

 

[ThePinkPoodle]

Okay; thank you for the confirmation since I am obviously late to the party.

 

[Scarlett916]

Yes the leather has changed several months ago to a less-plastic-y finish. My SA said it’s to avoid cracking of the leather and peeling of the coating on DE pieces. It’s been discussed at length in other threads.

It's funny that you should say that the leather on DE pieces has changed to a less plastic-y finish. I never thought that the leather was plastic-y...but I think the newer leather seems rubbery! It's got a weird feel to it, and it is a lot more matte and to me. fake looking. I guess it's meant to be more pliable to avoid the cracking and peeling as you say, but I think it's lost something in the process. Honestly, I have never had issues with cracking and peeling on any of my DE bags, and I have had several with the older style treated leather.

 

[lovexchanel]

It's funny that you should say that the leather on DE pieces has changed to a less plastic-y finish. I never thought that the leather was plastic-y...but I think the newer leather seems rubbery! It's got a weird feel to it, and it is a lot more matte and to me. fake looking. I guess it's meant to be more pliable to avoid the cracking and peeling as you say, but I think it's lost something in the process. Honestly, I have never had issues with cracking and peeling on any of my DE bags, and I have had several with the older style treated leather.

i never heard of any cracking or peeling on the Ebene leather but there has been plenty of documented cases of Vachetta cracking, but you don't see them changing that! So in my opinion, this is not the real reason. It's probably just cheaper and profitable if they don't add the shiny coating anymore, which is the last step

I agree that the matte leather seems more fake to me

 

[ThePinkPoodle]

I prefer the old material a lot more, too. The new material just looked fake to me and I have never had any problems with cracking/peeling to begin with - especially not on the Speedy.
This leads me to the conclusion, that the production is just cheaper.
With the shiny and smooth finish, in my opinion, the luxurious feeling is gone and the cool-toned color somehow dampens the look of the whole bag.
What I found interesting, is, that they still have photos of the "old" treated leather on their website, which confused me even more, when I looked it up, because it is almost as if they think, people would (or maybe should) not notice.

 

[Postyco]

i never heard of any cracking or peeling on the Ebene leather but there has been plenty of documented cases of Vachetta cracking, but you don't see them changing that! So in my opinion, this is not the real reason. It's probably just cheaper and profitable if they don't add the shiny coating anymore, which is the last step

I agree that the matte leather seems more fake to me

Classic example of damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

 

[Pagan]

I prefer the look of the old treated leather, but I’m probably just used to it looking glossier. There were lots of complaints about cracks in the treated leather, although I didn’t personally have any problems.

 

[lovexchanel]

I prefer the look of the old treated leather, but I’m probably just used to it looking glossier. There were lots of complaints about cracks in the treated leather, although I didn’t personally have any problems.

this leads me to ask, why didn't they fix the problem for vachetta cracking then and only the ebene leather? there's tons of cases of cracking vachetta leather, so it makes me think it's just some excuse they are using. if they truly wanted to fix cracking leather, then they should have made it universal across all leathers not just one type.

 

[lovexchanel]

I prefer the old material a lot more, too. The new material just looked fake to me and I have never had any problems with cracking/peeling to begin with - especially not on the Speedy.
This leads me to the conclusion, that the production is just cheaper.
With the shiny and smooth finish, in my opinion, the luxurious feeling is gone and the cool-toned color somehow dampens the look of the whole bag.
What I found interesting, is, that they still have photos of the "old" treated leather on their website, which confused me even more, when I looked it up, because it is almost as if they think, people would (or maybe should) not notice.

i agree with what you said, if this is their "reason", their repairs/spa service would lose ton's of money because many ppl would not need to replace their ebene leather anymore. also, why can't they fix the vachetta cracking so their reasoning doesn't add up to me how they only chose to fix one leather type. it's just a bunch of excuse to skip costs.

the more matte a leather is, the more prone it is to drying..
having an additional shiny coating at least protects it, kind of like moisturizing your skin by putting a film over it to prevent from cracking

 

[Postyco]

We can entertain conspiracy stories all day @lovexchanel but the facts are they changed the leather to make it malleable and hence stop cracking. The shine most likely made it stiffer. The natural leather does not involve a “shinning step” so how do you propose LV fix it like they did the ebene? If you want shiny leather LV does carry an extensive vernis line. Furthermore, LV typically comps like 80% of repairs for clients so I highly doubt they would “lose tons of money”

 

[lovexchanel]

We can entertain conspiracy stories all day @lovexchanel but the facts are they changed the leather to make it malleable and hence stop cracking. The shine most likely made it stiffer. The natural leather does not involve a “shinning step” so how do you propose LV fix it like they did the ebene? If you want shiny leather LV does carry an extensive vernis line. Furthermore, LV typically comps like 80% of repairs for clients so I highly doubt they would “lose tons of money”

it's just a discussion, there's no need to call me out. i'm going to ignore the rest of your statements

 

[Scarlett916]

I have a theory...and it's JUST my theory...but here it is:

I believe that a lot of the issues bags have had with cracking canvas (in any print) and cracking or peeling leather and glazing is more about design flaws than it is the materials they are using. Pleats and folds in canvas, flap closures, as well as lack of structure (like you see in many hobo style bags) is going to cause extra bending and friction, which will eventually end up in cracking. I have seen more people complaining of issues in shoulder strap and crossbody strap leather than I have heard of complaints of the leather on handheld bags. Same reasoning applies. Many of the rest of the issues people have with their canvas and leather wearing poorly I think can be chalked up to inevitable wear and tear and/or people not taking proper care of their bags. I know this isn't really a very popular opinion, but it's what I honestly think. I know, many people want to say it's because of lower quality workmanship or materials that LV is using on their newer bags, but I don't think it is. I've had vintage bags and newer bags both, and I can honestly say that I don't see a whole lot of difference in either the canvas and leather that is being used or the quality of the workmanship. I think it's a lot due to the fact that there are so many new designs constantly appearing and maybe some of those designs aren't going to wear as well with these materials as some of the older designs like the classic Speedy, the Neverfull, the Noé, and many others.

 

[BleuSaphir]

I think the matte look compliments the DE print. I never liked the glossy look of the former treated leather.
It just think matted look is very in trend, the rich being very fascinated for having a matted paint job on their expensive cars! Kidding, but I actually like the change to glossy treated leather to matte look.

 

[fabuleux]

I have a theory...and it's JUST my theory...but here it is:

I believe that a lot of the issues bags have had with cracking canvas (in any print) and cracking or peeling leather and glazing is more about design flaws than it is the materials they are using. Pleats and folds in canvas, flap closures, as well as lack of structure (like you see in many hobo style bags) is going to cause extra bending and friction, which will eventually end up in cracking. I have seen more people complaining of issues in shoulder strap and crossbody strap leather than I have heard of complaints of the leather on handheld bags. Same reasoning applies. Many of the rest of the issues people have with their canvas and leather wearing poorly I think can be chalked up to inevitable wear and tear and/or people not taking proper care of their bags. I know this isn't really a very popular opinion, but it's what I honestly think. I know, many people want to say it's because of lower quality workmanship or materials that LV is using on their newer bags, but I don't think it is. I've had vintage bags and newer bags both, and I can honestly say that I don't see a whole lot of difference in either the canvas and leather that is being used or the quality of the workmanship. I think it's a lot due to the fact that there are so many new designs constantly appearing and maybe some of those designs aren't going to wear as well with these materials as some of the older designs like the classic Speedy, the Neverfull, the Noé, and many others.

You are 100% correct.