How to Make an Entry-Level It-Bag
As the race to create the next entry-level It-bag heats up at both ends of the market, how can brands win?
Reported by Vogue.
Something quietly significant has been happening at the handbag counter. A decade ago, luxury's entry point hovered around $1,000 — enough to sting, but attainable. Then brands began hiking prices in the name of prestige, and the aspirational shopper, priced out and unconvinced, simply left. She went to Polène. She bought vintage. She spent on beauty instead. Now, according to Vogue, the industry wants her back — and the race to build the next entry-level It-bag is officially on.
The departure of that customer was never just sentimental. "Modern luxury behemoths cannot just rely on the super rich, as important as they may be," says Bernstein analyst Luca Solca. Middle-class consumers, in the millions, still anchor much of the sector's revenue. Bain & Co. senior partner Federica Levato puts it plainly: aspirational buyers haven't stopped wanting luxury — they've become relentlessly value-conscious, pivoting to pre-loved markets and accessible labels when price hikes aren't matched by actual product substance. Quality. Craft. Design. Creativity. These aren't soft selling points anymore; they're the standard against which every bag is being measured.
The response from major houses has been strategic rather than obvious. Outright price cuts would tank brand equity — you don't slash what you spent years inflating. Instead, Dior, Gucci, and Chanel have quietly seeded their lineups with lower-entry styles: Gucci's crescent-shaped Lunetta in canvas under $1,150, Chanel's vanity bags at $2,900, moves that collectively bring Chanel's median price from $6,500 down to $5,300 per JP Morgan analysis. Accessible-adjacent, not accessible. Solca's warning is clear: downward movement alone almost guarantees brand damage. The stretch has to go both ways.
The Contemporary Labels Aren't Standing Still Either
The brands that grew fat on luxury's arrogance — DeMellier, Staud, Jacquemus — built their followings on exactly what the big houses abandoned: integrity of price, transparency of process, and designs that actually meant something. DeMellier founder Mireia Llusia-Lindh frames it without apology: "We cut the margin, not the quality." Her factories are long-term partners in Italy and Spain; her leathers are certified. Staud co-founder Sarah Staudinger focuses investment on shape, material, and hardware — the physical details a woman notices when she picks the bag up for the fifth time. These are not accident-of-virality success stories. They are the result of treating the customer as someone paying attention, because she is.
Cultural resonance completes the equation. Prada's Re-Nylon line folds house codes into a lower price point without apology. Jacquemus turned Le Chiquito — from $630 — into an Instagram phenomenon via Rihanna and the Kar-Jenners. Miu Miu built the "Miu Miu girl" mythos around the Wander bag through Hailey Bieber and Alexa Chung appearances before a single campaign launched. Gen Z, Levato notes, rewards brands plugged into community and subculture, not just status. The entry-level It-bag of this moment isn't cheap luxury — it's a bag with a clear point of view, made honestly, and designed to be carried again and again.
The brands that will win this are the ones who understand that a woman at any price point knows exactly when she's being handed something stripped back just to protect someone else's margins.
Read the original at Vogue.
