Invest in yourself by making an expensive handbag your arm-candy for that dinner party.
Handbags don’t just have to be your guilty pleasure – you can actually use them to diversify your investments and turn them into assets.
According to Art Market Research (AMR), the value of luxury handbags, prominently those designed by Hermes, Chanel and Louis Vuitton, have spiked over 83% over the last ten years.
Collectors, dealers and resellers are now favouring handbags over art pieces, classic cars and expensive alcohols to utilise as an asset with increasing value.
These bags have been gradually increasing in popularity and value since they first arrived on the market – with some doubling their original worth within the last few years.
According to the (AMR) report, over 3,500 designer handbags were sold at auction in 2019, cashing in an astounding £26.4m ($50.4m NZD).
Of course the coveted Hermes Birkin bag takes the lead in the most expensive bags of the bunch, with its crocodile skin Himalayan Birkin being the most collectible in the world.
In 2016, the crocodile skin Birkin, with its white gold and diamond hardware was sold in a Hong Kong auction for a record-breaking 2.8m Hong Kong Dollars, which racks up to $569,000 NZD.
There has been a 93% increase in value from its original worth of $80,000-$100,000 USD. The Hermès Kelly’s has had the highest rate of value progression, increasing by 129% in the last ten years, selling for $125,000 USD at auction.
Comparably, Chanel flap bags have risen by 132%, and the Monogram Dior saddle bag which was originally $2000 USD when it debuted in 1999, has quadrupled, now selling at the highest of $8000 USD.
The handbag industry has become an investing agency that takes advantage of the rise of social media and e-commerce corporations in which resellers and investors collaborate.
“Luxury handbags are the tip of the iceberg of a secondary market for luxury which threatens to redefine the auction landscape,” says AMR, and this is something we can see in an array of facets in fashion.
Whether its classic vintage monogram prints or hypebeast streetwear culture, the growing demand and rise of prices can be seen all over the world.
