The 'It' Bag, Artisan Style

This season, fashion is going back to its roots by targeting artisan techniques that have long since been left aside. This know-how, coming from a heritage judged obsolete until now, is the new source of inspiration for the majority of the it accessories of spring/summer 2011.

Whereas rare skins and perfectly worked leathers are often key elements in luxury leather goods, high end accessories are now considering materials that recall ancestral ethnic groups or trousseaus from an earlier era than those that are usually exposed in (Paris) Avenue Montaigne shop windows.

These creations, always fashionable because they are already outdated, have a retro aura and an authentic character that are right on the mark. Next season's fashionista might find herself blacklisting modern materials from her wardrobe in favor of a beautifully produced needlepoint bag.

At a time when the individual is seeking authenticity, when the vintage market is exploding, when fair trade is filling closets with ethnically correct accessories and when the couture workshops are more popular than ever, it is predictable that fashion will end up stroking their clients by giving them products that are less interchangeable than before, craft takes the upper hand over "Made in China."