Is It Really Worth Spending Thousands of Dollars on Luxury Leather Bags?

It all started three years ago when I purchased my first Louis Vuitton bag for $1,700 with the intention of cutting it up. My goal was to see what made these bags so expensive. I shared my dissection on social media, and to my surprise, it went viral! Soon, I was dissecting every luxury leather brand out there at the request of my early followers.

This was the category I hoped every product would fall into. These bags showcased great design, perfect leather, masterful architecture, and artisanship. They were hard to come by from everyday leather brands, but if you appreciate good leather and status symbols, these were worth it. Sadly, most of the dissections fell under the first two buckets.

My initial assumption was that if these brands could charge such high prices and people still bought them like crazy, the products would be super special. It turned out that most were either mediocre at best or just plain good leather bags. My attention shifted to the truly special crafts in the third category, where I discovered five important pillars that set these bags apart: unique/creative design, perfect leather selection, great hardware, right inner structure engineering, and masterful crafting of this structure. 

I began to wonder: How much more would it cost to make bags like these, and do you really have to spend over $2,000 to get a bag of this caliber? This question led me to Loewe and the legendary luxury leather village of Ubrique in Spain, a name that kept coming up behind the most impressive bag reviews.

Read: The Mystery of Ubrique's Leather Craftsmanship

Ubrique felt like a scene from a movie—whitewashed buildings in a valley, filled with skilled artisans crafting bags for the most luxurious brands in secrecy. The level of craftsmanship was astonishing, and the town's culture of secrecy was ingrained, as luxury houses didn’t want to share their secrets.

After an eye-opening 24 hours, I left Spain but couldn't stop thinking about what I had witnessed. Even though I tried to make my bags in my own workshop in Turkey, the increasing level of sophistication required for my new designs became more challenging for my team to produce effectively.

Earlier this year, I decided to make some of my bags in Ubrique. The results were amazing, although pricier. I returned to inspect and see my very first batch of Helen crossbody bags made there. From the outside, they looked incredible, but I had to dissect one to see what my new fellow artisans made inside.

As I open this bag, I’m delighted to see the improved structures in the Helen. We didn't have most of these in the first version produced in Turkey. The experienced craftsmen in Ubrique have significantly enhanced the form and fullness of the bag. I'm also thrilled to see matching internal materials—basically the highest quality internals I'm used to seeing in top luxury brands.

Applying acetone, we removed a good amount of finish from the Togo leather to reveal beautiful shrunken pebbled calf grain underneath. The natural pebbles, created by the shrinking process, give a chaotic yet appealing variant pebble effect that retains a natural feel while providing a good level of protection against contaminants and water. This makes the bag easy to clean and maintain, which is why Togo leather is one of the most famous and sought-after leathers in the luxury fashion space.

Since this is a natural crust, the acetone didn't remove any finish—there isn't any finish on this leather. This means we see most of the blemishes, making it quite open to human interaction, touch, and scratches. I love these leathers, but they don't fully complement the protective leather used on the outside of the Togo and the pebbled calf. For the next batch, I plan to choose a more pigmented finish for the inner lining, which will slightly improve the bag's overall appearance.

The hardware features a good layer of copper plating under the gold plating, with zinc alloy underneath as a soft metal. This is above average for this market level, but it's not the best hardware I envision. I’m working towards switching to stainless steel, and next week I will test my first samples.

The Helen bag uses about four square feet of Togo leather and three square feet of inner lining. Given that Togo is the most expensive leather I've seen in the calfskin world, the leather cost for this bag is around $75. Assembly in Ubrique at my partner workshop, including the hardware, costs $65. The total cost of making this bag is $140—actual numbers, not estimates, as this is my product.

This is the most important pillar. Moving to Ubrique will provide me with the time and talent to push the limits of my creativity. With the amazing leather, hardware, and expertise of my fellow Ubrique artisans, I aim to create refreshing silhouettes that match the top luxury products available today.

From a cost standpoint, I already know that these bags won't have to be priced at $2,000. I will be able to offer them at a much more accessible price point. If you want to check out my first Ubrique batch, they're available on my website. I'm keeping the original prices for the Helen, calculated with my lower costs in Türkiye, although I will need to make a small adjustment when I upgrade the hardware in future batches.

With these concrete results in front of me, I am convinced that the $41,441 I spent was the best educational investment in my career. I'll be documenting every step of my learning adventure here in Ubrique to share this amazing artisan culture, ensuring it is not kept a secret anymore.

My 22-month, $41,441 journey through the world of luxury leather goods revealed that not all expensive bags are worth the hype. While many fall short, truly exquisite bags stand out with their unique design, superior materials, and craftsmanship. Moving to Ubrique, Spain, and working with skilled artisans has allowed me to create high-quality, luxurious bags at a more accessible price point. This adventure has transformed my understanding of luxury and aims to make top-tier craftsmanship available to everyone. Stay tuned for more insights from my ongoing journey in Ubrique.