Chinese Luxury Brand Duanmu Creating Bags Often Compared with Hermès

I was surprised when I first saw images of bags from Chinese luxury brand Duanmu. The brand combines natural materials with Chinese aesthetics to create exquisite woodcrafted handbags. They are extremely unique and the craftsmanship rivals (or surpasses) many top international luxury brands.

Inspired by mythology from the Tang and Song dynasties, Duanmu founder Qi Tian (祁天)  uses ancient Tang Dynasty-style wood inlaying techniques – up to thousands of wooden parts can go into the making of just one bag.

Prices typically range from 5k to 40k RMB but the brand also makes special pieces. For example, one piece sold at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong in 2019 went for 137,500 RMB ($21,375 USD).

At the moment, the brand has 4 stores in Beijing and Shanghai. It just opened the Shanghai store in Grand Gateway 66 in February. Its neighbours are LV, Chanel and other high-end luxury brands. In fact, it is the only Chinese brand on the floor with all the major international luxury brands.

A Trained Architect, How Did Duanmu Founder Qi Tian End Up Making Bags?

Born in 1983 in Beijing, Qi studied architecture at Tsinghua University and the University of Pennsylvania. But it was his hobby of collecting that inspired him to launch Duanmu in 2011. When he first started the brand, he wasn’t creating bags, he was creating boxes to store antiques. He had discovered that many collectors in China were housing their valuable collectables in regular boxes.

In a recent interview he shared, “People packed museum-quality pieces, worth tens of millions of yuan, into whatever was available, such as a shoebox or a moon cake box.”

But the demand wasn’t as high as he expected. And he also felt that his creations were just being hidden away for no one to see. He wanted to create something more visible.

In 2016, Qi found that the wooden boxes he was creating could be changed into handbags. One week after he had the idea, Qi created the first Duanmu bag and decided to solely focus on the handbag business.

A Reputation for High Quality Craftsmanship

Qi treats his products like a work of art. The patterns on all of his products, from the eye of a horse to the hairs of a deer or a rabbit, are created with Tang-Dynasty-style wood inlaying techniques, which have an accuracy to the nearest 0.1 mm.

For one of his floral-patterned bags, it takes 15 pieces of wood to make a flower with six petals-each as big as a thumbnail. The finished bag consists of 758 pieces of inlaid wood, and it has been through 22 technological processes, with 194 sub-processes.

He deliberately chooses not use printing or painting, which would be less costly and quicker to produce.

Duanmu Bags Design Inspiration

As mentioned, the brand’s designs are inspired by mythology from the Tang and Song dynasties. This choice is very intentional.

Qi has shared that, while many Western brands are exploring and beginning to incorporate Chinese aesthetics, they tend to approach it from a surface level, embellishing symbolic elements of dragons and phoenixes.

Qi feels that there is so much more to be explored about Chinese society. Duanmu’s collections feature a variety of motifs based on traditional Chinese culture, some deriving from ancient practical utensils, some from ancient bricks and stones, and others from Dunhuang murals. They also incorporate incorporate Chinese fairy tales and mythology.

Maintaining Strict Control Over Entire Production Process

Qi Tian knows a key thing that will differentiate his products from domestic handbag brands and even international luxury brands is the quality. Even as the brand has grown, he has maintained strict quality control.

Except for hardware fitting, Qi and his team handle the entire production process, from sourcing raw materials, to crafting bags and to decorating and assembling. Qi also personally selected all the craftsmen that work for him to ensure an outstanding team.  

Duanmu is Deliberately Expanding Slowly

In terms of expanding, Duanmu keeps a steady and low-key speed. Every year, it opens one to two stores in first or second tier cities. The pace is decided by the Duanmu’s manufacturing capacity and the ability to provide excellent service at those offline stores.

At the beginning, Duanmu actually went a bit overboard with its sales process. Duanmu’s sales associates told long stories of the brand to customers who visited its stores. From the positioning of a brand, to the craftsmanship involved in the production process, and even the aesthetics that Duanmu was delivering, the entire introduction took up to two hours! While some customers loved listening to stories, some simply wanted a bag and not to feel like they were getting a museum tour.

Based on feedback from customers, Duanmu quickly adjusted its approach. Sales associates now only share topics that interest each customer, instead of sharing everything.  

Duanmu is Very Selective When Choosing Offline Store Locations

Duanmu believes the location of its first store in a city is important, as it will drive consumers’ first impression of the brand. For this reason, Duanmu only chooses luxury shopping malls in first tier cities to locate its stores at the moment.

It is also worth noticing that its offline stores are decorated in an ancient China theme. Qi wants to create stores that are half for shopping and half a museum or art gallery. Qi believes that this is the best way to present Duanmu’s ancient China culture to its customers.

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