At the SS13 M.Hulot stand Capsule, Paris

The brand new Cona bowling bags

Nova flap Shoppers and Strapped Howe bags

Exhibiting at a trade show can be a daunting prospect; so much love and attention has gone into each range that exposing yourself to fashion buyers and press is as nerve racking as it is exciting. But emotions aside, one of the things us designers have to do is eat humble pie and listen and learn from the buyers.

One of the brand new M.Hulot styles is a very simple oversized shopper named the Sas Tote. It got a lot of attention, but one Japanese buyer mentioned something very interesting: the petite shape of the average Japanese woman could mean that this particular style is too large, making it unsuitable for the Japanese market. This kind of feedback is invaluable.

The Strapped Howe bags came about as last season buyers repeatedly asked for detachable cross body straps on their clutch bags. Et voila SS13 and the Strapped Howe is turning out to be one of our best sellers!

One of the most exciting parts of buyer feedback that really got me thinking creatively was 'they're unisex right?'. Now, M.Hulot is a ladieswear brand, but I've always personally admired casual and heritage menswear brands so I guess some of this has rubbed off, and worked some of it's magic. Maybe the time is now...