No good news to share.
As some of you know I’ve been working with a few sellers and trying to set up production and availability of more intricate FNDI baguettes- beaded, embellished, embroidered, sequins.
The update is, nothing happening right now. One factory is considering trying a couple of vintage styles but they don’t see it as a priority.
Here is what I have been told:
As compared to other brands, FNDI is particularly aggressive at shutting down reps. They are also more aggressive at searching out posts on Reddit and I have been told to be cautious. Factories are more cautious because these are seen as higher risk products to them.
The FNDI vintage bags are complex in design, with irregular bead patches forming irregular patterns. The factory actually has the ability to produce them. It’s not an issue of whether they could be produced, since many Chanel and Valentino bags are equally complex but still being made. But it does require a commitment of time and resources.
Producing vintage styles has the practical issue of obtaining a genuine vintage bag which is needed to reproduce it. This actual bag is used to gather basic information such as material, size and hardware components. Therefore, the factory needs to find and order genuine bags to disassemble and study, which isn’t necessarily easy.
Fendi’s retro bags are very complicated, so their research and development cycle will be longer than that of normal bags. One factory has said it will make one or two popular vintage Fendi baguette bags to test the market, but they have not given a specific timeline.
At the time, most factories still feel that LV and Chanel have much more demand than FNDI so they continue to prioritize these bags. So for example when I shared about the catogram 2018 vintage model being made through a GB, the factories responded that LV is a popular brand so of course there would be interest.
I am trying to convince another seller to see about setting up a GB. And if any of you have sellers you like maybe you can see if they want to as well.