The designer accessories market is, in certain ways, like the stock market. At any given time, brands and bags are moving up and down the rungs of popularity and profitability, and the key to being stylish is figuring out what’s about to blow up what’s about to fall off a metaphorical cliff. Below, I’ve made some predictions for brands to track in 2015; I can virtually guarantee that they’ll all be trending up. Which brand do you think will have a big year?
Chistian Dior
Top-tier customers have been playing with their Chanel and Céline bags for a while now, and the kind of buyers who have the best of everything are always interested in the New Best Thing. Under Raf Simons, Dior has been steadily improving its handbag line, and the modern pieces, both pleasingly minimalist and exquisitely detailed, could capture a lot of hearts and minds in 2015. It feels like Dior is on the cusp of something big.
Chloé
We named the Drew ($1,750 via Barneys) one of our most notable of 2014, and all available information indicated that Clare Waight Keller’s accessories team has hit its stride. We’re excited to see where things will go for the femme-boho stalwart in 2015.
Coach
Stuart Vevers has set his agenda at Coach, and it’s decidedly more luxurious and fashion-forward than we’ve seen from the brand in the past. Spring 2015’s collection is a solid mix of youthful, modern Americana that feels like it will land with fashion customers, and Coach’s year could go almost anywhere from there.
Mansur Gavriel
To date, no brand has been better at figuring out what the cool girls who have disposable income but lack enormous trust funds want to carry. That’s a huge consumer demographic, and it’s ripe for Mansur Gavriel’s picking. What’s next after the Bucket Bag? We’re hoping that 2015 will tell us.
Sophie Hulme
Britain-based Hulme is another indie designer who’s managed to find a foothold in the fickle-but-fashionable space between sub-$400 contemporary offerings and over-$1,500 premier designer bags. Now that she’s started to explore territory beyond her gold hardware-festooned boxy totes and envelope shoulder bags, her audience should only expand in the new year.
