Behind a rust door and between Venetian plaster walls is a luxury shop for the changing times. Rare Collective, an apartment-like space where you can trade, buy, liquidate, authenticate, or even bring your pieces in for a “bag spa,” is owned by Dennis Robles, a bag guru with 20 years of experience in buying, selling, and authenticating bags. Even resellers have their wares checked by him.
“Like yesterday, I did a free authentication… of 20, probably 30 bags — I couldn’t even count,” he says. It all happened very quickly. One client came in to have several items checked. “Four out of five were real. She wanted to know why.” So she paid extra to have that full authentication experience where Dennis would give specific information about what he was looking for to ensure an item was real. (While not an exact science, authenticators each have their own tells that they look out for, whether it’s the logo, the quality of materials, the stitching, or even the bag’s weight or smell.) At the end of his authentication process, Robles issues a certificate stating the bag is authentic. Not that there are licenses to do so, we venture to ask.
‘3’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:994075ec-8b6f-4966-b93b-69daac8aed8f’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Rare Collective sells brand-new, preowned, or vintage, be it ultra luxury bags, Swiss watches, curated designer jackets and coats, opulent
“Oh no no no. It’s just trust,” says Robles, easy to talk to, in all black, amid the lighted vignettes of Birkins, Chanel purses and the occasional Royal Oak watch or shoe displayed in the store. The emphasis on keeping it real is carried through to the minimalist design by Jagnus Studio, with a material softness to run your fingers along, and a rational layout of showroom, office (in which we sink into a couch with Fornasetti cushions and an Hermès throw) and vault in the back. The better to keep all the inventory.
When we meet, Robles has on a stack of diamond and other bracelets, terminating in a Patek Philippe Nautilus 5990 in solid steel.
‘8’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:5a321a5a-8dc6-46fc-9371-bcb34205b6ad’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Owner Dennis Robles in the store designed by Jagnus Design Studio. “The initial design concept pays homage to the first store of the
Cultivating cred from both buyers and sellers, he’s built a reliable network that makes him comfortable enough to say, “There’s an infinite supply of preloved luxury goods in the market.”
“Some would sell to profit. Others are simply just tired of their old bags,” he says. “At the end of the day it’s still fashion.”
Take large bags, for example.
20 years ago, when Robles got started, he observed how women were into big colorful bags. “As they age, they’ve come to realize that heavy bags give them back aches so they shift to mini bags for everyday use.’
‘9’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:346d2c70-be14-4df9-9811-2bc820e6cd23’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Heart Evangelista at the Rare Collective store opening. Photo
At the time, Robles was a college student buying and selling Prada, Gucci, Dior, Ferragamo, and Tod’s to his friends’ titas, or even to those who responded to his listings in Buy and Sell magazine. Today he is focused on brands that retain their resale value over a longer period of time, like Hermès, Chanel, Goyard and Delvaux.
As a general rule, the prices for bags in the secondary market will depend on their current market value, currency rates, and rarity.
Unlike cars, which depreciate the moment they leave the showroom, bags from these four brands he’s chosen tend to fetch not just the same, but exponentially higher prices, especially if the design is rare. Robles walks us over to one example, an Hermes Birkin 20cm Faubourg, a unique design that has fetched between $167,000 to $180,190 at the auction house Sotheby’s. Also known as the “House Birkin,” it looks like a little storefront, complete with orange leather awnings. “It’s patterned after the Rue du Faubourg store of Hermès in Paris, the mothership store of Hermès,” Robles points out. “That’s how the windows would look like…it’s made of epsom leather, with a little touch of crocodile skin.”
‘ ’22’: ‘image’: ‘jcr:dd0e14a6-9674-40f5-bf0b-e09b415bdd03’ ‘imageCaption’: ‘Bags from Hermès retain their value over the years. Topmost is the Faubourg Birkin Bag, which is among the most expensive Birkin bags on the secondary market due to their rarity and customer demand, according
Robles says knowingly, “If the demand for certain luxury goods exceeds the supply, automatically when it leaves the original boutique, the value goes up right off the bat. The truly rare ones — even vintage — would sell more than the new ones in Christie’s and other auction houses abroad.”
The prices run so high, he shares, that some people are able to build homes and pay off their debts when they sell their bags. “Just like art.”
At this, he shows us some paintings on the wall, and later still, a member of the staff wheels out a hidden panel of paintings upon request. Among them are a piece from Malang and several BenCabs. At some point we ask about another painting we see that is grayscale, quiet, and depicting a glass of water. “Is this for sale?” We ask. But it’s from Robles’ personal collection. “So it depends. You know, everything is for sale if the price is right. But right now no, not selling it,” he says.
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