It was an unusual scene at the tony Bergdorf Goodman on Fifth Avenue in New York. In an unprecedented pre-season sale last month, customers had the luxury of ferreting through piles of trendy Marc Jacobs totes, Prada wallets and Christian Loubotin shoes. The best part of the deal — a never-before 40 per cent discount on the price tags. Saks, the other high-end, multi-designer boutique, slashed its fall accessory prices by 70 per cent during Thanksgiving weekend, even as Louis Vuitton outlets in Thailand sported massive discounts over Christmas and New Year.

Back home, the sales haven’t hit the stores. But as wallets fear a possible recession, it is time for the brand fiend to wear Indianness on the sleeve. The largest market for international brands in India has been the accessory segment, but now fashionistas seem ready to give their Justin Leibers and LVs a break in favour of their Indian counterparts — ethnic and cheaper.

“It never looks good to carry a Fendi clutch with a Kanjeevaram, but in India we prefer snob value to aesthetics. But, now, more people seem open to the idea of carrying an Indian handbag with indigenous handwork, which is both exclusive and costs about one-fourth of what their Birkins would,” says Mumbai-based accessory designer Meera Mahadevia, who has a large overseas market, clientele that spans Bollywood stars, industrialists and NRIs, and whose work is displayed at the Newark Museum Gallery, US. Mahadevia’s bags steer clear of leather and use ethnic influences like silver kadas, Buddhist chant bells, marble inlays, semi-precious stone settings and bidri work. The price, between Rs 4,000-20,000, is a throwaway when compared with their international counterparts. A Birkin, for instance, starts at Rs 1 lakh, while a Marc Jacobs comes for Rs 60,000 onwards.

It is craftsmanship that Amrapali, one of the leading jewellery brands based out of Jaipur, is banking on, and what they think, has pulled them through. “In times like these, few jewellers are doing well. Our profit margins too have gone down, but we have managed to keep loss at bay, thanks to interest picking up in certain segments like our silver bags. In the last few months, that market has done pretty well,” says Rajiv Arora, promoter of the brand whose silver bags start at Rs 5,000.