Britain is falling out of love with the 'It' bag

from Women Times Online
Jennifer Howze

Since 1956 when Grace Kelly used an Hermes bag to shield her tummy from photographers during pregnancy, the It bag has grown from pricey princess accessory to hotly pursued must-have. In recent years every season has brought with it more handbags proclaimed to be the new 'It' bag. A new style tucked into the crook of Sienna Miller's or Kate Moss's elbow could incite frenzied buying and acres of coverage in the press.

But that is coming to an end, predicts Mintel, the consumer research group. Mintel forecasts that British women will ditch the expensive celebrity-endorsed bag in favour of lower-priced high street versions as they tighten the belts and tire of the hype.

"Women have become more cynical about celebrity-endorsed products. Many will no longer be as quick to spend hundreds, even thousands of pounds on a bag just because the likes of Posh Spice have been snapped with one. Especially when these days the must-have looks are quickly translated to the high street," says Katrin Magnussen, senior fashion analyst at Mintel.

"We've been writing this for some time at The Times," says fashion editor Lisa Armstrong. "It was such an obvious outcome for a phenomenon that had been endlessly hyped. Customers are wise to the fact that celebrity "endorsements" have become devalued when the celebs all get bombarded with freebies."

While acquiring a status bags has become easier in recent years - luxury companies have expanding their offerings to cash in on the fervour - it's also become more expensive, with some versions soaring beyond the £20,000 mark. "The fact that prices have climbed to eye-watering levels - £1,000 is now quite common - while exclusivity levels have plummeted has also been a factor in the demise of the It bag," says Armstrong.

To be sure, the handbag sector is hardly ailing. Sales between 2002 and 2007 grew 139 per cent, topping £468 million in 2007, according to Mintel. Shoppers are expected to spend £553 million on them in 2008. In the past 12 months, 55 per cent of British women bought a new handbag.

But while in the past three years the market has grown 30 per cent year on year, this year growth is expected to almost halve, rising 18 per cent over 2007.

The It bag as we know it (with ostentatious logos and chunky padlocks, chains and other bling) may be on its way out but handbag obsession lives on. "Women still love bags, they still love luxury and they'll always require something chic to carry their belongings around in," Armstrong says. "What all the analysts seem to have missed is that actually there is an It bag - it's the Chanel 2.55, first designed in 1955. It's just that it became an It bag by stealth, without any hype."

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that customers who formerly bought the bag of the moment are now looking for smaller niche brands or limited-edition versions to set themselves apart in the fashion crowd.

“I think there will always be a customer for designer bags," says, Yvonne MacKenzine, head of buying for women's non-clothing at the online fashion retailer ASOS.com, which carries handbags "in the style of" celebrities like Paris Hilton and Sarah Jessica Parker as well as bags by YSL, Chloe and their own brand. "But there is more of a move towards individualism – that is, for accessories that have more of a vintage feel and that are less identifiable.”