From The Straits Times    |

Photo: Bottega Veneta SS18

Gone are the days where toting designer buys make us look like a carbon copies of one another. Luxury brands are stepping up their game, tooling up to allow personalisation services to cater to the growing appeal of individuality amongst discerning shoppers.

Coach, Fendi and Louis Vuitton have already taken the lead on this front, allowing you to customise their iconic house bag styles through monogramming, detachable straps, embellishments, and even stickers.

With these new personalisation programs readily available in stores, the concept of personalisation in the luxury market becomes more accessible to us as well. We don’t know about you, but the idea of owning a luxury house’s institutional bag bearing one’s initials  beats schelping a facsimile of the same style by a mile.

 

Bottega Veneta

 

The brand’s latest personalisation program, which made its debut on the Spring / Summer 2018 runway, lets one’s own initials take center stage. New seasonal men’s styles are available for personalisation alongside bags from the Stripe group—totes and duffels in canvas, suede and ostrich patterned with bold sporty stripes where your initials can be embossed, stamped or stitched on between. New women’s bags which can be personalized include the Intrecciato Palio tote and BV73 tote bag.

 

The new personalization program also features intrecciato —  a form of leather weaving technique iconic to the house — styles, the Veneta hobo, the Olimpia shoulder bag

and the Cesta tote, along with wallets, zipped pouches and phone cases. Seasonal colors and styles will shift with each new collection.

 
 

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Starting this month (February 2018) onwards, these personalisation services in Bottega Veneta boutiques across Singapore will be available, some of which will feature dedicated corners within the store. Embossing and stamping are both complimentary;

the finished product will be available within 24 hours at select stores or within a few days. Stitching, however, requires a longer turnaround period as it can only be executed by Bottega Veneta artisans. Offered with the option of crocodile or carrara calf letters in seasonal colors, stitching is not complimentary and charges will apply per alphabet.

 
Dolce & Gabbana

 

 

Personalise your own rounded frame sunglasses with the new Dolce & Gabbana eyewear line “Customize your eyes”. The collection of gradient lense glasses pays homage to the Sicilian roots of the brand as well as Mediterranean culture with clip-ons characterised by flowery decorations and refined majolica, to which the traditional leo print is added on a burgundy background.

 

 

This customisation service allows you to wear three different models on one frame by mix and matching clip-ons that are available in interchangeable variations: from leo prints, to stripes and roses, and brown havana. The model comes complete with a case in the fabric of the three coordinated prints — a nice finishing touch to encase your masterpiece with style.

 

Longchamp

 

The Le Pliage Personalized was also introduced in Singapore last year as a permanent customization service at Longchamp ION Orchard. Back then, the service allowed us to hot-stamp up to eight custom characters on the flap and include up to three perforated characters (letters, numbers, heart or star symbol) on the body of a Le Pliage Cuir tote.

 

 

Now, Longchamp is changing up its game by introducing the new limited edition “PIN” bag edition. Fully perforated to host pins anywhere, the collection of Le Pliage Pins bags allows you to switch around cute, whimsical pins and badges as and when you’d like with ease. Choose between 17 different creations of pins inspired by 6 themes: “Longchamp”, “Astral”, “Exotic”, “Animals”, “Valentine’s Day” and “Chinese New Year”; and from 4 different colours: Black, Navy, Cherry and Girl. You’ll find hand-drawn style motifs from the likes of heart-shaped glasses, vintage cameras and even pink coloured dogs — perfect for Chinese New Year and even for Valentine’s Day gifting (it’s not too late!).

 

The Longchamp Le Pliage Pins collection, from $710 for a backpack to $845 to a top handle bag. Available at all Longchamp boutiques in Singapore while stocks last.

 

ALSO READ: LOUIS VUITTON MAKES THINGS PERSONAL, AND FOR FREE