I want one, you want one, Victoria Beckham has tons. Women create such high expectations for themselves when it comes to having the most exclusive item on the market. We've all hyped up the Hermes brand, but there's reason to. Isn't there? Waiting lists that make it seem like you've been waiting all your life to hold your own Birkin or Kelly bag, hand stitched pieces of fine leathers and croc skins, and a membership to the special world of Hermes ( I've heard that Hermes is so confident in their product that if you bring in your 10 yr old wallet that you think is too worn out, they'll replace it for you. Lifetime warranty? sweet) This all comes at a cost of let's say...a car? or a house? Depending on the style and the material you want, you're going to have to fork up at least 10G's and to some women it's worth it.
Recently however, Hermes has taken the next step into making the production of their crocodile bags more efficient and specialized with their own breeding farms in Australia. Certain parts of the body are required for certain parts of the bag ie. the head pieces are used for the handles or the bottoms. You can see how more crocodiles are required in meeting the high demand of croc bags. PETA is not pleased with this latest installation:
"PETA Senior Vice President Dan Mathews speaks out: The thought of purposely breeding and killing crocodiles for an outdated, overpriced handbag should make any fashionista’s skin crawl. If Hermes really wants to be a leader in the fashion industry, it should stop killing animals for cold-blooded vanity and use cruelty-free mock croc and fake snake instead."
Crocodylus Porosus skin makes the most expensive Hermes croc bags because of its symmetrical scales and it's rarity/scarcity. Doesn't this make it more cruel to purchase? Makers of Hermes bags inspect and nit pick the most flawless alligator skins. Any imperfections are unexceptable and you can see how this can be a problem with crocodiles/alligators from the wild. Hence the ideal breeding farms?
I think that luxury comes at a cost, but isn't this a little too much? Can't we stick to good ol' sealed canvas, lamb leather, patent leather...or is using leather cruel as well? Then what is considered luxurious in the fashion world? I sure don't consider Matt & Natt vegan purses as luxury (no offense). Furthermore what will PETA do if they see an Hermes croc bag? They can't spill blood on it cause i'm sure it'll repel somehow (it's so shiny and smooth). So i'm guessing they would key the purse? You know, like keying a car.
I guess I don't need to worry about pissing PETA member off anytimes soon. It's not within my budget to do so.
On a lighter note!!! This is for you CJZ in response to QUOI's first ever submission
Hermes Bike. Oh yes. Thank you purse blog.
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I am little torn on this one. While I appreciate the fine and unique quality of the material that Hermes is after, I think that this is crossing the line. I mean, they have never had to farm their own animals before so why now? It's not as if this is some "new" bag that is just hot for the moment. Hermes should want to keep the supply down, because demand certainly isn't going anywhere, no? I agree that vegan and pro-PETA products just dont cut it for me...I like a fine leather shoe or a supple handbag but this is a bit much.
ReplyDeleteI can just see it now Soph, "That bitch just keyed my purse"...Lets not give anyone any ideas. lol.
As for the bike, I want. I need. I covet. Thank you for the link :)
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ReplyDeletehaha i figured it was only a matter of time before you'd write about the hermes+croc breeding farm scandal :)
ReplyDeleteit's a little extreme, no doubt.