leathergoods

Jimmy Choo, a nominee for a Readers' Choice Award for Best Leathergoods, was launched in 1995 when Tamara Mellon, Accessories Editor at British Vogue, realized the potential demand for stylish but wearable shoes. Mellon approached Jimmy Choo, a couture shoe maker based in the East End of London who was recognized for his excellent craftsmanship. The pair formed a partnership to start a ready-to-wear shoe company and opened the first stand alone boutique on Montcomb Street. Sandra Choi, Choo's neice, was named the company's Creative Director with Mellon as its president. Joshua Schulman is the company's chief executive officer.

In 1998, the company opened its first boutique in New York, followed by Los Angeles in 1999. The company's name soon became synonymous with the "red carpet" shoe of choice. Choo's shoes were a favorite of the late Princess Diana, worn by Michelle Obama to the Inauguration Ceremony and have also been seen on such Oscar winners including Cate Blanchett, Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman and Hilary Swank, among others.

In 2001, Jimmy Choo expanded significantly and introduced a handbag collection. Today, Jimmy Choo encompasses a complete luxury lifestyle accessory brand with women's shoes, handbags, small leather goods, sunglasses and eyewear. Its products are now available in tknumber of Jimmy Choo freestanding stores as well as in prestigious department and specialty stores worldwide. The Jimmy Choo store network now encompasses more than 100 locations in 32 countries.

The brand received the 2009 "Designer Brand of the Year" award from the British Fashion Council, the 2008 ACE award for "Brand of the Year" from the Accessory Council and the 2008 "Brand of the year" from the 22nd Annual Footwear News Awards in New York.

Cast your vote for the Readers' Choice Awards at http://www.luxist.com/awards-vote/accessories-awards.

A Readers' Choice nominee in the Best Leather Goods Category, Hermes has come a long way since its inception nearly two centuries ago. The company was founded by a Frenchman named Thierry Hermes in 1837 as a maker of harnesses and bridles. Since then, it has grown into one of the world's most sought-after luxury brands; customers have ranged from Humphrey Bogart to Paris Hilton.

Hermes is known for leather goods like the Kelly bag and Constance bag, favored by actress Grace Kelly and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Like all Hermes products, these bags are made by hand without assembly lines; only one craftsman may work on a bag at a time.

The Birkin bag, which takes its name from actress Jane Birkin, is perhaps the most coveted of them all. Made from exotic animal skins and adorned with hardware hewn from precious metals, these bags boast waiting lists in excess of two years and price tags starting at $5000. A one-of-a-kind pink crocodile Birkin fetched $140,000 in 2007.

Hermes peddles its goods through boutiques sprinkled throughout posh U.S. enclaves like New York, East Hampton, Palm Beach and Beverly Hills. Based in Paris, the company continues to expand abroad into lucrative developing markets such as China. In a nod to its heritage, Hermes still offers equestrian paraphernalia.

Cast your vote for the Readers' Choice Awards at http://www.luxist.com/awards-vote/accessories-awards.

For the first time in over a hundred years, we get an inside view of how Dunhill manufactures its beautiful leather goods. Never before has Dunhill shown the outside world how the world class craftsman create their products. In this clip we get to see a portion of the film demonstrating the making of Dunhill's Double Document Case.

While we have always admired the finished product, watching the craftsmen at work makes it all that more interesting. It happens in the Walthamstow workshop and all by hand. Each leather artisan is responsible for the construction of a piece from start to finish and includes a stamped card with their name on it inside the finished product. The sense of personal pride taken by the master craftsmen translates into the highest quality and standard of work for Dunhill.

From the consumer's perspective, watching the skills and techniques involved helps one understand the price tag of over 1,800 British Pounds Sterling for this special bag. The company has a hundred and sixteen years of experience and the same processes that were used in the beginning are still being employed in the crafting of their leather goods today. Anyone who has an interest in fine products should find this glimpse, albeit orchestrated for film, into the manufacturing process at Dunhill fascinating.

Our friends from Birds of Sausalito who recently helped us giveaway a pair of luxury pajamas also has a new line of leather goods. The company has co-branded with San Francisco's Mulholland Brothers,a company we've covered for their line of quality bags before. The new Birds of Sausalito line is done in a deep brown leather they call "stout" no doubt after the dark beer. The weekend bag shown here is known as the Shorthorn and is a classic overnight bag with a generous outside pocket, rolled leather handles and a detachable padded shoulder strap. When you unzip the top center zipper the bag's top stands up and open allowing for easy packing. The bag is nylon lined and inside there is mostly open space except for a single zippered envelope pocket. It's the sort of classic bag that never goes out of style and attains a certain well-worn gravitas as it ages. It sells for $795.

These days the celebrated French leathergoods company Longchamp is best known for its super-stylish handbags as seen in ad campaigns starring Kate Moss (above). Most people are unaware however that the company, which dates back to 1948, started off selling luxurious leather-covered pipes to Paris' bon ton. The rich heritage of the firm is celebrated in Longchamp, a gorgeous new illustrated history from Abrams by Marie-Claire Aucouturier with photographs by Philippe Carcia, published in celebration of the company's 60th anniversary.

Beginning with the deluxe pipes, which became a favorite of Elvis Presley (pictured smoking one in the book), the company built a brand as a bridge between the very social equestrian world and the world of luxury travel. Named after Paris' famed Longchamp racecourse where Napoleon III presided over the Royal Enclosure, the company adopted a horse and rider as its logo. The pipes were soon followed by cigarette cases and other leather accessories for smokers, then expansion into small leather goods in the 1950s, followed by the opening of the first Longchamp boutiques in the 1970s and '80s.

The first in a line of luxurious luggage soon followed. Longchamp thrived where many firms failed by catching on early to the importance of the Asian market. In the early 1970s, Philippe Cassegrain, Longchamp's founder, designed a line of bags called "LM," destined for the Japanese market, recently re-released for the anniversary. Its success gave Longchamp a solid reputation as a creator of women's handbags and enabled the company to expand further. In 1993 Cassegrain introduced the Le Pliage collection of foldable travel bags made of colorful vinyl with luxurious leather trim, an instant smash; two billion of them have been sold since.

London luxury goods maker Dunhill has teamed up with legendary auto marque Bentley on an exclusive new set of leather luggage for Bentley owners. Dunhill's craftsman designed the luxe pieces in collaboration with Bentley's Design & Styling team at the automaker's head office in Crewe, England. The set, made to fit the trunk of Bentley sedans, consists of five pieces: a large suitcase (above), small suitcase, briefcase, weekend bag, and wash bag.

Each is handcrafted in brown natural grain leather with matching interior trim, in a fluted design similar to that found on the leather seats of the $250,000 Bentley Arnage. The custom-designed hardware features a unique lock mechanism with a knurled edge and an inset Bentley "B". The entire set will run you about $9,000 and is now available to order from your friendly neighborhood Bentley dealer with a 2-4 week delivery time.

French luxury powerhouse Hermes will open a men's-only store, the first of its kind in the world, across from its Madison Avenue flagship in NYC this fall. The 6,000-sq.-ft. space, designed by Rena Dumas of the architectural firm RDAI in Paris, will carry the brand's entire range of men's leather goods, watches, clothing, sportswear and accessories, and will have a full floor devoted to custom and made-to-measure merchandise, DNR reports. As my colleague Deidre Woollard related earlier this month, Hermes recently announced that first-quarter sales increased 13.4 percent to 415.1 million euros, or approx. $621.7 million. Sales in the Americas were up 23 percent. Men's merchandise accounts for 45 percent of the luxury brand's total sales, DNR notes. Last June, the company opened a 5,000-square-foot shop in New York's financial district with an emphasis on menswear, catering to the Wall St. crowd.

It's one of the economic vagaries of the business that storied British luxury goods firm Asprey of London no longer has any connection (save an historical one) with the actual Asprey family. After the 200-year-old company was sold to Prince Jeffri of Brunei in the '90s, family scion William Asprey decided to start his own firm catering to the aristocratic trade (Asprey had long held royal warrants). However, he discovered to his dismay that he was no longer entitled to the use of his own last name; while Prince Jefri subsequently unloaded Asprey to a hedge fund, William opened a beautiful shop in London's Mayfair under the name William & Son.

Under its new owners Asprey has gone in an increasingly fashionable direction, and while producing some beautiful things it has suffered financial setbacks from over-enthusiastic expansion. William & Son by contrast hearkens back to Asprey's traditional roots, and still maintains an air of clubby exclusivity in its Mayfair premises (pictured above), which stocks high-end jewelry, silver, watches, leathergoods, china and crystal. A key facet of the business is its bespoke service, which will basically fashion anything you like in whatever precious material strikes your fancy as long as you can afford it. More recently William added an adjacent gun room, where beautiful silver-inlaid shotguns can now be had for $100,000 and up. He is certainly following through on his promise to "maintain his family's reputation in the historic splendour of No. 10 Mount Street." And what's in a name, after all?

Let's head southwest, shall we? King Ranch, located in my home state of Texas, is the largest ranch in the United States, covering 825,000 acres. In addition to ranching and farming, the modern-day King Ranch is also home to the King Ranch Saddle Shop, offering a collection of high quality leather goods, including luggage, clothing, saddles and, of course, bags. This sturdy tote is made from durable leather accented with a natural turquoise set in a silver concho. Inside, the bag is lined in cotton canvas and has a full size pocket. With just a touch of fringe and braided leather straps, this bag epitomizes modern Western style. $315.