And there seems no end to an accessory specialist extending its vocabulary, hoping to emulate Gucci and Prada. Last week Bally, once famous only for shoes, opened an oak-lined flagship store on Berlin's Kurfuerstendamm to showcase the full range of its designer, Scott Fellows. Tod's offers an ultra-elegant tote bag with a padded nest for a laptop, and Chanel has come out with a range of functional luggage. With the saddlebag and the Chrysler fender as inspiration, Dior has played with Indian mirror embroideries, hologrammed patent leather, monogrammed canvas, denim and collages of flowery fabrics. And that's just the bags.
Footwear includes dainty shoes and fancy embroidered or embossed leather cowboy boots.
The idea is, of course, to make you dream. In that emotional appeal to the senses, accessories now hold all the power and energy that used to belong to fashionable clothes.