The Dictator | The best designer handbags for under HK$10,000: buy up-and-coming brands like Wandler or Danse Lente
Lesser known labels prove that accessible prices and designer accessories are not mutually exclusive
I love handbags and I’m in a position to be buying designer ones that cost HK$10k! What can a non-millionaire woman wear and still get some fashion respect?
Bag it Up, Mid-Levels
The Dictator rules: HK$10,000? Who are you kidding? If you are hankering after a current-season bag from a major fashion house, you’ll need HK$20,000, maybe even HK$50,000. And we’re not even talking about iconic bags such as the Hermès Birkin. (Hundreds of thousands depending on the vintage and type of leather.) If you could get off the waiting list, that is. Lucky for you, the “it” bag is a thing of the past. Sort of.
Now, you’ll get major fashion cred for carrying a brand known to few, offering fabulously designed bags for about HK$3,000 to no higher than HK$8,000. Wandler is the epitome of this new category. Founded last year by Elza Wandler, the Amsterdam-based brand has quickly become a favourite thanks to the unexpected shapes and colour range of its Italian handmade bags. Start with the trapeze-shaped Hortensia, available in mini to big sizes (HK$6,300 and up; Lane Crawford).
You should also consider bags by the now well-known New York label Mansur Gavriel (HK$3,900 and up), which was founded by Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel in 2012. London’s Danse Lente, by Youngwon Kim, is another amazing discovery you could try to claim. Start with the deceptively simple, geometric Phoebe shoulder bag in mixed leathers (HK$2,458 and up; Net-a-Porter). Sharing the geometric aesthetic and colourful leathers of bags of this ilk is Nico Giani, by Tuscan designer Niccolò Giannini, who also has an eye for 1950s and 60s vintage (HK$2,627 and up). Still haven’t found the one? Try Polène, Sézane, Linjer and Building Block.
