The global fashion market is currently worth a staggering amount: approximately 3 trillion US dollars - that's 3,000 billion US dollars. The eighth installment of FashionUnited’s fashion industry statistics infographic series takes a closer look at the coveted market of luxury handbags. At some point in the 90s, ‘It’ bags became one of the ultimate markers of status and supreme fashion tastes. During the 90s, brands like Coach, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton had the monopoly on the luxury handbag market with their heavily logoed designer bags and paved the way for the rise of other brands, such as Celine. The last decade of the 20th century saw an explosion in the luxury handbag market as they became a must-have for many shoppers. Discover the infographic to learn more, and to find out why a Hermes Birkin bag is a better investment in gold.

This is the eight installment of a new series based on the fashion statistics pages, a product of FashionUnited Business Intelligence. These pages include data on the domestic market size of apparel and footwear, facts and market values on the largest fashion companies and fashion employment statistics. Interested in more data on luxury handbags, please contact BI@fashionunited.com.

The ninth installment will be published on Monday, 24 October, on FashionUnited.uk, FashionUnited.com, FashionUnited.in, FashionUnited.nz, FashionUnited.ca,au.fashionunited.com. The fashion industry statistics series consists of 10 installments in total, published every other week. Want to make sure you’re up to date with the industry’s latest news? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Would you like to learn more on luxury handbags? Read the It-bag series from our in-house luxury handbag specialist.

Infographic: FashionUnited