Toteme Is Banking on the Success of Its Handbags

LONDON — Swedish brand Toteme appears to have cracked the puzzle of how to build a healthy business and it starts with accessories.

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The category accounts for 20 percent of the company’s sales, and handbags is one of their fastest-growing categories.

Since November 2022, Toteme has sold about 30,000 of its T-lock bags , which range from 730 British pounds for a cotton-blend canvas finished with black leather to 1,100 British pounds for a version made with Palmellato leather.

Now the founders, Karl Lindman and Elin Kling, are making way for a new bag.

The brand’s new belted tote bag, retailing from 920 British pounds to 970 British pounds, is the focus of Toteme’s fall 2024 campaign. Mikael Jansson photographed the black-and-white images, while fashion veteran Camilla Nickerson styled the sleek campaign imagery.

“Camilla is someone I have admired for as long as I can remember and her personal style is a great source of inspiration for me. I love her approach to styling, which is not unlike our creative process at Toteme. She takes real interest in the woman and creates this persona, who she then proceeds to dress,” said Kling in an interview.

Nickerson has been working with the brand for the past few seasons and styled its first runway show during Paris Fashion Week in January.

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“This campaign really speaks for us as a brand, putting our design codes, craftsmanship and persona in sharp focus. It was partly photographed at our atelier, which meant we had an opportunity to give this category more visibility,” added Lindman.

Toteme’s strategy for handbags is to offer “customer a complete collection of handbags with styles for every occasion, and to inspire her what bag to go for, and when. Defining her wants and needs is an ongoing process that is very much rooted in my own lived experience,” according to Kling.

She further explained that when creating a new handbag , the emphasis is always on “wearability and occasion.”

While the prices of handbags have risen in the luxury market, the brand has been firm in not following the trend.

“Our price point is more accessible than that of traditional luxury brands, but the quality of the products and the visual and physical brand experience are the same,” said Lindman.

Accessories is the fastest-growing category for Toteme since the T-Lock bag launched back in November 2022. Another growing sub-category in the accessories business is footwear, where boots are seeing the most demand from customers.

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