Quality Comeback

When I told my friends I wanted to create a new luxury business, they shook their heads and said I was crazy," says Massimo Suppancig, the CEO of Valextra, a 67-year-old Milan-based leather-goods company once famous for catering to the likes of Maria Callas and Grace Kelly. In its heyday, Valextra had been known for filling extravagant custom orders — the Emir of Kuwait once commissioned 14 sets of hippopotamus-skin luggage. But over the past two decades, the business had declined and licensing deals had diminished the name. Enter Suppancig in 2003, a former Hugo Boss and Escada executive who immediately recognized the brand's rich heritage and set to work revitalizing Valextra as a kind of Italian Hermès.

In addition to rehiring original craftsmen, Suppancig, 44, also reconstructed both the company's product and its image. In September he opened a 500-sq-m store and headquarters on Milan's Via Manzoni. The minimal designs were soon back on the arms of fashionistas, including the house's trademark bag, "Punch," originally created in 1951. The bag comes in bright colors like kelly green and fuchsia and is made with 19th century techniques, including "boarding" treatment, or pressing the leather into a silky consistency using the palms of the hands. "This is not about logos, it's about the quality of the craftsmen," says Suppancig. And he's onto something very luxurious indeed: leather handbags sell for $670-$4,300, while exotic-skin bags range from $4,500-$18,500.