m.a+ (Maurizio Amadei)

[kira]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="theetruscan"][quote user="Casius"]

[quote user="Chinorlz"]^ still.... you should see how much (little?) full hides cost compared to the price of the wallet. Doesn't matter HOW exotic the skin is. They're all making serious serious bank off of us.[/quote]

You would seriously laugh at the retail price when you find out what cost is on even the best italian leathers! lol

But let's face it, with MA+, we're paying for the craftsmanship and the exclusivity.

[/quote]

That's universal to designer clothing. No piece from any designer is "a good deal" in terms of materials, is it? In the case of the JS wallet mentioned before, there is some outsourced production house who probably sells the same items directly for far less while still making a profit. In the case of the M.A.+ wallet, you're paying for exclusivity without branding. In the case of the JS one, you pay for exclusivity with branding.

Maybe it's just me, but this doesn't seem to be a surprise or great secret. No one has ever pretended to me that designer jeans are somehow 45 times better than levi's or anything similar.

[/quote]

with any great work of art (as the M.A.+ wallet is in my opinion) you pay for the creation of the sublime. not to bring about a huge discussion on what value is but perhaps something that is truly unique deserves a higher value and that value is not/should not be material dependent. the levi's of design are fine and serve the function properly, however it is the desire to have things that transcend mere function that drives us...

[philip nod]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

thanks for mentioning the sublime kira, its about time somebody did. (excuse me if i missed an earlier thread)

[theetruscan]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="kira"]

with any great work of art (as the M.A.+ wallet is in my opinion) you pay for the creation of the sublime. not to bring about a huge discussion on what value is but perhaps something that is truly unique deserves a higher value and that value is not/should not be material dependent. the levi's of design are fine and serve the function properly, however it is the desire to have things that transcend mere function that drives us...

[/quote]

Rereading my own post, I realize I failed to make my point. Thanks kira. My point was intended to be that no one buys designer/designed clothing because it is somehow a good value for money in material terms, rather we buy it because it is good value for money in terms of how much gratification/joy we get from it.

[Chinorlz]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)



I was typing on the iphone so I couldn't elaborate further earlier....

Of course the material costs are a mere fraction of the end-buyer cost. That's for sure. At the same time, there is still a range of acceptability for item prices (of course completely and utterly subjective.) and the MA+ wallet price along with many other accessories is borderline insane now.

Don't get me wrong. I own one and use it on the daily and as Pnids did with the daily-cost breakdown, it's all good. It smells great, works great, is slim, and the leather is lovely.

At the same time, the price increasing 30%+ over the course of two seasons.... that's a little on the rough side.

We are definitely paying for exclusivity, elegance and execution of design and just overall... it being something crafted by Amadei.

But when I went to A a couple of weeks ago and talked to Satoru about the MA+ belts, some of the prices have seemingly doubled since the MA+ inception. In part economy, in part customs fees, in part Amadei. I love it all for sure, but I'm getting priced out rapidly at this rate.

Beautiful things have been crafted from inexpensive fabrics (no matter how nice they are) as many have mentioned. As exotic and unique as Linea fabrics are, material costs are but a few euros and we're paying for design, aesthetics and execution. Not a problem at all really (as is obvious with everyone reading this... we're all buyers of these lines and price is what price is) but there reaches a point when it really is getting to "highway robbery"

The people on this forum are very likely in the upper echelons of high-cost-per-item spenders. $1000 for a single item is absolutely not unheard of and you'll barely see a basketball photo for it now [74] (just kidding!), but it's fast getting way too high. Almost all boots from our favorite brands are $2k+, making the Rick sneakers look downright bargain-bin at $1k.

Of course, we all make our exceptions right? I'll look at the MA+ wallet now and say it's too pricey for what you get anymore and turn around and save up thousands for the fencing jacket.

It's all an opinion, but it's nice and interesting to hear people's thoughts on designs and items when money factors into it. Ugly things turn beautiful, beautiful things turn drab, and then there are those things that don't lose their luster no matter if it's a million.

[AKA*NYC]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="kira"][quote user="theetruscan"][quote user="Casius"]

[quote user="Chinorlz"]^ still.... you should see how much (little?) full hides cost compared to the price of the wallet. Doesn't matter HOW exotic the skin is. They're all making serious serious bank off of us.[/quote]

You would seriously laugh at the retail price when you find out what cost is on even the best italian leathers! lol

But let's face it, with MA+, we're paying for the craftsmanship and the exclusivity.

[/quote]

That's universal to designer clothing. No piece from any designer is "a good deal" in terms of materials, is it? In the case of the JS wallet mentioned before, there is some outsourced production house who probably sells the same items directly for far less while still making a profit. In the case of the M.A.+ wallet, you're paying for exclusivity without branding. In the case of the JS one, you pay for exclusivity with branding.

Maybe it's just me, but this doesn't seem to be a surprise or great secret. No one has ever pretended to me that designer jeans are somehow 45 times better than levi's or anything similar.

[/quote]

with any great work of art (as the M.A.+ wallet is in my opinion) you pay for the creation of the sublime. not to bring about a huge discussion on what value is but perhaps something that is truly unique deserves a higher value and that value is not/should not be material dependent. the levi's of design are fine and serve the function properly, however it is the desire to have things that transcend mere function that drives us...

[/quote]

Great point, Kira. I agree wholeheartedly. This is what I try to drive home to my philistine friends.

[AKA*NYC]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="Chinorlz"]

we're all buyers of these lines and price is what price is) but there reaches a point when it really is getting to "highway robbery"

[/quote]

I'm with you all the way on this. There's a fine line between rewarding a designer's effort - which as Kira sagely pointed out has nothing to do with the cost of materials and/or production of some given item - by purchasing certain goods at a premium yet justifiable price (eg. the fencing jacket) to buying something begrudgingly with the sneaking suspicion that you're somehow being duped. On some level I feel we're being taken advantage of ever so slightly already and that's okay, but if it gets much worse, I may well stop purchasing certain products on principle. I'm optimistic that the prices will stabilize and possibly drop sometime soon.

[Faust]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)



[quote user="dream"]so, they increased the price by 100 bucks and did no improvements/changes to it? that sucks.[/quote]

since the first collection, $ dropped about 20% or so, + inflation, not much premium left for name and other nice things.

[Faust]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="Chinorlz"]

I was typing on the iphone so I couldn't elaborate further earlier....

Of course the material costs are a mere fraction of the end-buyer cost. That's for sure. At the same time, there is still a range of acceptability for item prices (of course completely and utterly subjective.) and the MA+ wallet price along with many other accessories is borderline insane now.

Don't get me wrong. I own one and use it on the daily and as Pnids did with the daily-cost breakdown, it's all good. It smells great, works great, is slim, and the leather is lovely.

At the same time, the price increasing 30%+ over the course of two seasons.... that's a little on the rough side.

We are definitely paying for exclusivity, elegance and execution of design and just overall... it being something crafted by Amadei.

But when I went to A a couple of weeks ago and talked to Satoru about the MA+ belts, some of the prices have seemingly doubled since the MA+ inception. In part economy, in part customs fees, in part Amadei. I love it all for sure, but I'm getting priced out rapidly at this rate.

Beautiful things have been crafted from inexpensive fabrics (no matter how nice they are) as many have mentioned. As exotic and unique as Linea fabrics are, material costs are but a few euros and we're paying for design, aesthetics and execution. Not a problem at all really (as is obvious with everyone reading this... we're all buyers of these lines and price is what price is) but there reaches a point when it really is getting to "highway robbery"

The people on this forum are very likely in the upper echelons of high-cost-per-item spenders. $1000 for a single item is absolutely not unheard of and you'll barely see a basketball photo for it now [74] (just kidding!), but it's fast getting way too high. Almost all boots from our favorite brands are $2k+, making the Rick sneakers look downright bargain-bin at $1k.

Of course, we all make our exceptions right? I'll look at the MA+ wallet now and say it's too pricey for what you get anymore and turn around and save up thousands for the fencing jacket.

It's all an opinion, but it's nice and interesting to hear people's thoughts on designs and items when money factors into it. Ugly things turn beautiful, beautiful things turn drab, and then there are those things that don't lose their luster no matter if it's a million.

[/quote]

W.O.R.D.

[mortalveneer]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="Chinorlz"]

At the same time, the price increasing 30%+ over the course of two seasons.... that's a little on the rough side.

[/quote]

Look at the change in the exchange rate over the past two seasons...and I would guess that has a lot to do with the price increase. Have the prices increased commensurately in the Euro and the Yen markets as well?

In truth I had been considering picking up a wallet at A this weekend when I'll be in NYC, but that was before I heard about the price increase. As it stands, at $500 I'll hold on to my wildswans coin case and wallet (i like to load both back pockets for the sake of my spine) for a little while longer.

That being said, I don't think the prices on everything MA+ are unreasonable. For me, its honestly a case of pick and choose. I agree that some of the items seem far too basic for the attached tag, but others are well worth it, for I am absolutely enamored with the MA+ leather pants DHC was kind enough to send my way. For me, the treatment, cut, stitching, inside lining holding up the pockets, etc make them well worth the investment. Other items fall into the category of "worth it when I don't have a budget constraint", which as a grad student, I unquestionably have...

[Faust]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="AKA*NYC"][quote user="Chinorlz"]

we're all buyers of these lines and price is what price is) but there reaches a point when it really is getting to "highway robbery"

[/quote]

I'm with you all the way on this. There's a fine line between rewarding a designer's effort - which as Kira sagely pointed out has nothing to do with the cost of materials and/or production of some given item - by purchasing certain goods at a premium yet justifiable price (eg. the fencing jacket) to buying something begrudgingly with the sneaking suspicion that you're somehow being duped. On some level I feel we're being taken advantage of ever so slightly already and that's okay, but if it gets much worse, I may well stop purchasing certain products on principle. I'm optimistic that the prices will stabilize and possibly drop sometime soon.

[/quote]

Some manufacturers have already stopped raising prices because they don't want to alienate the US customer. I read an article on that - I think I even posted it in the fashion media section. The flipside is, now it's getting to be lucrative for someone from London to come here, buy two luxury bags, keep one and resell one and get a free round trip out of it. IN-SANE.

[xadam]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)



[quote user="Faust"]

Some manufacturers have already stopped raising prices because they don't want to alienate the US customer. I read an article on that - I think I even posted it in the fashion media section. The flipside is, now it's getting to be lucrative for someone from London to come here, buy two luxury bags, keep one and resell one and get a free round trip out of it. IN-SANE.

[/quote]

Keep in mind that this generally only applies to goods made in the US. European goods sold in the states are not significantly cheaper here than they are in Europe.

[Faust]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="xadam"]

[quote user="Faust"]

Some manufacturers have already stopped raising prices because they don't want to alienate the US customer. I read an article on that - I think I even posted it in the fashion media section. The flipside is, now it's getting to be lucrative for someone from London to come here, buy two luxury bags, keep one and resell one and get a free round trip out of it. IN-SANE.

[/quote]

Keep in mind that this generally only applies to goods made in the US. European goods sold in the states are not significantly cheaper here than they are in Europe.

[/quote]

No, no, the article was specifically talking about LV, YSL, and the like.

[xadam]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="Faust"]

No, no, the article was specifically talking about LV, YSL, and the like.

[/quote]

That math doesn't make sense.

[Faust]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="xadam"][quote user="Faust"]

No, no, the article was specifically talking about LV, YSL, and the like.

[/quote]

That math doesn't make sense.

[/quote]

like i said, they don't want to alienate the american customer, so they'd rather take a profit margin hit than not sell at all. or so the article maintained.

[Jochan3000]

Re: + (Maurizio Amadei)

[quote user="xadam"][quote user="Faust"]

No, no, the article was specifically talking about LV, YSL, and the like.

[/quote]

That math doesn't make sense.

[/quote]

It certainly does. Although the luxury market is relatively indifferent to a raise in prices, as compared to less expensive brands, the decline in the collar currency has been quite substantial. Yet the average american consumer of luxury goods doesn't make more money and therefore the clothes being exported from Europe has to sell their stuff for less euros, since the american market is such a huge one. And yes that vill as Faust stated earlier create a market for European goods to be imported from the United States instead of being purchased in a European country. It is crazy, but that is the way it works.