Handbag trends in the UK

Research and Markets has added a new profile to its research surveys - handbags!  Okay, it might not  be the most exciting news in the world to you, but as a handbag designer, I found it fascinating. Looking at their findings in detail was really interesting too. 

First fact - tote bags are the largest of the four sectors in ‘handbag’ retailing - making up 30.77% of the market all on their own. 

The other three bag categories are:

Shoulder bags

Purses and Wallets

Satchels and Saddles.

What’s more interesting is what’s not there - no clutches and no classic ‘hand’ bags like the Kelly which, at least in the version popularised by Grace Kelly herself, didn’t have a shoulder strap. Bag fashions definitely change, and I wonder whether we’ll ever see a return to bags carried on the wrist, but probably not, women have too much to carry now, including tablets, and hanging that weight off your arm would soon get uncomfortable. 

E-commerce and designer bags

And the good news for us at Blue Button Bags is that the handbag market, in the UK at least, is buoyant with growth being driven by a recovering economy and a growing recognition of the value of a well designed bag that will become a classic item. E-commerce is the biggest area of growth with niche designer bags finding their place in the market as well as a strong interest in vintage handbags and shoulder bags with personalised details such as embellishments and modifications.

However, there is a little cloud on the horizon. The handbag market in the UK might struggle in future as the population ages and declines - I assume that this is because smart women will buy well designed bags that last and last, so they won’t need to keep buying more bags! 

The most famous handbags in the UK

Second fact. The report goes on to talk about the key vendors, who are very much the bag designers you’d expect to be on the list: Burberry, Chanel, Gucci, Hermes etc but also a couple of relatively new kids on the block such as Michael Kors and Radley. 

What’s common to the new designers is how eminently practical their bags are - Michael Kors with a background in sportswear, has become THE designer tote of the decade, and that’s no surprise, given how well his bags hold up to rough treatment, while Radley’s iconic Scotty Dog logo represents a fun, fashionable brand line that is designed to work as hard as the women who buy its bags. 

So I’m quietly thrilled to be in the vanguard of fashion in the UK handbag industry, and I always wonder to myself whether any of the bags that appear on the arms of celebrities in the media are quietly hiding a Blue Button Bag organiser inside!


By Kay Sexton


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