Delvaux love and hate

This is a story about my love and hate relationship with Delvaux. Delvaux is Belgium's most luxurious accessory brand. The house of Delvaux equals 'fine leather luxury goods' and sublime craftsmanship. Every design contains a letter D, their signature mark. The character will always be part of the product, sometimes in a very latent way and sometimes you will notice it right away. 

I know Delvaux for more than 15 years. The love for the brand was enhanced by my mother. She gave me my first  Delvaux for my 17th birthday. It was a gorgeous black rucksack, pure black 675€ opulence.  From then on every leather accessory I bought was designed and crafted by Delvaux. I was in love. Our love and loyalty was endless and everlasting.

Until a few years ago. One fine day I entered the refined store because I was looking for a new bag! All of a sudden I realized that I did not like one bag. They could not enchant me anymore and the collection gave me an old fashioned feeling. At that point we ended our love relationship. My respect and trust towards Delvaux was gone. Over and out.

I asked myself: where did we go wrong? simple, they had lost their spirit. The whimsical collection I once knew was gone. It was like they only changed the colours of the bags. The rest was plain and simple, but not in a good way. The bags were reintroduced over and over again. Don't get me wrong, every brand needs classic designs that stand the test of time. The Brillant PM is a magnificent example of a true iconic bag with some innovative adaptations. But it does not mean that you have to obtain a standstill policy for the rest of the collection. You have to find a balance between tradition and innovation. 

I understand Delvaux does not want to lose their identity of extraordinary craftsmanship ! This does not mean you should get stuck in your own designs. Sometimes you have to take a risk and you have to reinvent yourself. Fashion is all about marketing and personality. With all due respect, if I see old fashioned people walking around with a Delvaux bag, it does not make me want the bag. If you sell a bag for 3800$ at Barneys, you have to have a marketing plan! If nobody knows you, nobody wants you. I am a magpie, bedazzle me and I assure you that it will benefit your bank account!

So in my point of view you need to create a vision. Not only for yourself, but for your customers. Now I don't have any anchor points in my brain that represent Delvaux. So what pops up in my mind when I think about Delvaux? Confusion.

Delvaux is like an old everlasting love to me so I will never stop loving the brand. I do believe in their expertise, endless potential and pure handcrafted techniques. I am sure that one day they will overwhelm me again. Maybe this day will be here sooner than later because Delvaux is going trough some radical changes these days.

All Delvaux/ chairs & ottoman Vitra