Valextra Milano Flagship & Bags Honest Review

Visited the Valextra Flagship store in Milan late last year, and I’m really happy that I was able to see their products in a more complete context. In a way, seeing a tiny display in a department store is a bit of a disservice to the brand, especially because the department store displays usually have a somewhat anemic selection that isn’t very representative of what the brand has to offer. Seeing their products all together, with ample space to inspect, and seeing all the variations and special editions–made me appreciate the craftsmanship of the brand a whole lot more.

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I had heard that Valextra was often referred to as the Hermès of Italy. After having inspected a few Iside pieces in different boutiques/ department stores (and seeing that they were machine-stitched), I struggled to see how they could even compare. The pieces were well made and felt solid, but I wasn’t yet fully sold.

To be honest, it was inspecting their other bag styles that impressed me more in terms of craftsmanship, not their flagship Iside bag haha. Don’t get me wrong, I still love the classic and modern look of the Iside, and have my eye on some of their special editions such as these:

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–but it isn’t the most difficult in terms of construction compared to some of their other styles (note that “not the most difficult” does not mean NOT difficult. It is still very difficult to make, especially with this level of finesse)

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This one above is one of my favorites (I got myself a black one a couple weeks ago in Rome haha), the Tric Trac bag. From afar it looks like a somewhat basic bag, but I will do a separate review later once I’ve taken some pics, so I’ll reserve its cool secrets for then. Let’s just say that every time I use it, I note how difficult it is to make, and how handy it is hahaha

I was also super impressed by the high level of difficulty of their men’s bags (I only took photos of one style though, I thought I did of a couple more, but this was the only one). And it’s not necessarily just the construction that’s difficult, but the level of sleekness and cleanliness of their execution.

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There were several styles that had high levels of difficulty in terms of construction, and the level of finesse was just superb.

If there’s one element I’m least sure of, it’s how the actual leather will fare over time. I haven’t seen that many old Valextras. I spotted some in vintage shops in pretty good condition, albeit not that old. Note that this leather is more coated than your rustic vegtan (which is what I myself use for making our Quiddity bags), so if you’re after patina and that rustic wear and tear, this is probably not the brand or type of leather to pick.

But if we’re looking at workhorse type leathers with protective coatings, I’d probably have this go up against Chanel’s caviar leather which, if you read people’s many different accounts of their recently purchased Chanel bags, has declined in quality in recent years. The Valextra Iside is like half the price, and also just a fraction of the ubiquity haha. I’ll continue to test and use the Valextras we have and periodically update my posts as the leathers age and get more use. Fingers crossed!