“It’s not that we don’t believe in luxury handbags anymore… because luxury will always remain, but I think the spectrum of luxury has changed.”

So says Sebla Refig Devidas, chief merchandising officer of Communité, a new retail emporium in Istanbul that puts the accent on emerging designers — and well-designed handbags with gentler price tags.

The approach, which she anointed “new luxury,” seems to be working. Since opening last May, Communité has seen handbags generate 25 percent of its revenues, with Devidas describing it as a “growing business.”

The veteran buyer and merchandising chief, who joined retail giant Boyner last year to develop the Communité concept after a long career at Beyman, was weaned on luxury but had a field day scouting new brands, about 60 percent of them new to Turkey.

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She and her teams scoured showrooms and trendy retail districts in South Korea, Japan, Australia, Denmark and beyond, yielding a unique brand assortment that gives handbags double exposure — in a dedicated zone with shoes, and in branded shops or curated style zones where they might mingle with home wares or design objects, alongside large assortments of ready-to-wear.

For example, Communité is currently hosting a resortwear section across 1,600 square feet, which showcases novelty bags from such brands as Jonathan Simkhai, Farm Rio, Lisa Corti, Cuir, Le Nine and Manebi.

The overall handbag assortment includes the likes of Hereu, Dragon Diffusion, Aesther Ekme, Armarium, Boyy, Liffner, Loulou de Saison, Mansur Gavriel, Maeden, Naghedi, Studio Nicholson, Soeur and Vee Collective, along with a sprinkling of designer names: Ann Demeulemeester, JW Anderson, Proenza Schouler, Ulla Johnson, Dries Van Noten, Lanvin and Simone Rocha among them.

Devidas noted that Communité sells handbags with higher tickets, with styles by London-based brand Métier retailing for about 2,000 to 4,000 euros, for example.

But she’s skirting traditional luxury brands given consumer fatigue, the diminishing desirability of long-standing iconic models, and a recent flurry of fresh introductions.

“The luxury handbag business has become too expected,” she said. “Clients are mostly putting creativity and individual taste at the center, rather than somebody else telling them what is an ‘It’ bag and what isn’t.”

Devidas confessed she feels the ennui herself. Despite being an avid fan of the Loewe brand, “if I want to buy a Loewe bag, I’m not sure which one to invest in.”

She also detects new preferences among younger generations. Instead of buying an iconic, entry-price handbag from a known luxury brand, “they’re OK to buy a Palomo Wool handbag, or something from a very contemporary brand and feel OK about it. Everyone will ask them, ‘Who makes your handbag?’”

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