Kwanpen bags?
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Love Kwanpen - leather, colors, craftmanship... I own a lot of small leather accessories (wallets, keyholders, coinsbag etc), but like a lot of you, wouldn't buy Hermes-inspired bags like Kelly/Birkin. My mum adores Kwanpen too and I think that's because a lot of Kwanpen's bags/designs are more suitable for older women...
well... i personally own 6 Kwanpen croc bags.. 3 of them are "birkin inspired"...and 3 others are Kwanpen's own designs...it was a phase of croc madness.. and Kwanpen in HK had a huge sale last year. I actually got them before I got crazy over H... I guess, since now i'm all over H...I wont buy any more "inspired' designs.. haha 
to justify myself~
Re quality... I have to say.. it's very acceptable. Tho I'm not a professional to talk about stitching and be specific about the quality of the croc leather.. as a commoner(?) who likes to shop... I'll give my thumbs up
I have seen ppl mix and match H accessories along with the "inspired birkin" .. that I personally would not do... but I guess~ as long as one comfortably think that its "birkin style by Kwanpen" and acknowledge it, I dont think its embarrassing to carry one around
Oh, besides, Colombo (a Italian croc brand), which sells much more expensive than Kwanpen in Korea, and Cocco (also another croc brand).. they all have "inspired birkin" designs... Colombo "birkin" is about half price of the Hermes croc birkin.. and ppl in Korea get it when the Hermes one is unavailable and use it as wedding gifts.
to justify myself~Re quality... I have to say.. it's very acceptable. Tho I'm not a professional to talk about stitching and be specific about the quality of the croc leather.. as a commoner(?) who likes to shop... I'll give my thumbs up
I have seen ppl mix and match H accessories along with the "inspired birkin" .. that I personally would not do... but I guess~ as long as one comfortably think that its "birkin style by Kwanpen" and acknowledge it, I dont think its embarrassing to carry one around
Oh, besides, Colombo (a Italian croc brand), which sells much more expensive than Kwanpen in Korea, and Cocco (also another croc brand).. they all have "inspired birkin" designs... Colombo "birkin" is about half price of the Hermes croc birkin.. and ppl in Korea get it when the Hermes one is unavailable and use it as wedding gifts.
This may be a little late to reply to this thread, but I just came out of a Kwanpen boutique today. They do accept bags for re-polishing (I trust they will still be around seeing that they have been here since 1938 and is still expanding strongly internationally, with latest expansion into Turkey).
I do not think it is fair to compare a normal cowhide leather with a croc one. A Hermes Croco will cost more than S$50,000 and even if one doesn't need to be in the waiting line, the right Colour and size may not be readily available.
There is demand on the birkin bag, especially the size 32 which Hermes does not offer. There are people who like the model and material of a bag but not the Brand, and Kwanpen fits in nicely for these group of people.
I have a H birkin myself, but I am open to having the Yellow Kwanpen in Croco I saw today - simply as an alternative.
Oh by the way, their prices appreciates every year because the supplier of leather - which was bought over by LVMH, increases their prices as well. You'd be interested to know many of these branded labels do share the same supplier. I also just witness some real good quality ready to wear by a Chinese company who collaborates with the same supplier that supplies fabric to high end retailers (Prada, MaxMara, etc).
Just some thoughts.
I do not think it is fair to compare a normal cowhide leather with a croc one. A Hermes Croco will cost more than S$50,000 and even if one doesn't need to be in the waiting line, the right Colour and size may not be readily available.
There is demand on the birkin bag, especially the size 32 which Hermes does not offer. There are people who like the model and material of a bag but not the Brand, and Kwanpen fits in nicely for these group of people.
I have a H birkin myself, but I am open to having the Yellow Kwanpen in Croco I saw today - simply as an alternative.
Oh by the way, their prices appreciates every year because the supplier of leather - which was bought over by LVMH, increases their prices as well. You'd be interested to know many of these branded labels do share the same supplier. I also just witness some real good quality ready to wear by a Chinese company who collaborates with the same supplier that supplies fabric to high end retailers (Prada, MaxMara, etc).
Just some thoughts.
I think women prefer Hermes because it's the "original" and more well known. I guess also afraid people might think they are using a fake birkin if they use a kwanpen? I don't know, but my mom owns a few and I've got to say it has changed my mind.. they are gorgeous
Hi deluxique, first time i learned about kwanpen bags, kinda interests me. Would you know how much a 35 inspired birkin is? Do they all come in croc skin? Is this boutique you're talking about in HK? sorry for all the questions, i thought of asking you since you're fresh from the boutique here in TPF. Thank you so much
Hello crazyforbirkin, the yellow birkin at size 32 costs about sgd7k. I was at Singapore's MBS store. Apparently there is a reservation made for that piece from a HK regular and was due to be sent to HK for her. The workmanship is very good I must agree, but I also have this worry about people saying about the affordability aspect but then again if I don't want to be held hostage waiting forever for a birkin, Kwanpen is really a good option.
Thanks for the info deluxique, i will be going to HK next week and i plan to go to kwanpen. I'll take it from there...as i am really hoping to get a B or a K at H boutique, although i know that chances are so slim if none at all. Thanks dear
It's pretty easy to tell that this is not a Hermes Himalaya Croc based on the gradient of the brown tone scales and overall even w/o looking whether it has the Hermes stamp. Nonetheless, it's still beautiful.
Thank you for such lovely photos. I must say that the scale of these Kwanpen bags are so close to the real thing. I wonder why they don't get into trouble with H. Nevertheless, they are more affordable the H skins.
I have several Kwanpen - black croc which is stunning, also violet, aquamarine (ciel color) and metallic black in ostrich. They are beautifully made, quite price friendly and are a lovely bag to carry. I wouldn't call them Birkin inspired, as the Birkin is not trade-marked and as long as they don't have the Hermes name on them they are not breaking any rules. There are many bags with similar styles. You only need to look at all the so-called Drs bags.... speedy, dior, plus many others have the exact same style.
I wonder if they are exotic skin suppliers to designer brands? I was thinking the same thing you were like how can they not get in trouble for making bags that are so similar to Hermes bags.