SoleHeeled offers convenient and affordable Goyard bag repairs by Australia’s best craftsmen, with free shipping to your door. This case study outlines how we recently repaired a customer’s Goyard bag.
The bag
This Goyard Artois MM bag was in good shape, but the leather around the top binding and base of the bag was scuffed and discoloured, and the edging along the straps was wearing away. When the customer reached out to us for a free diagnosis/quote, we offered to custom recolour / refinish the leather and to re-wax the edging on the straps.
Leather strap re-edging
We began by cleaning the leather straps and carefully removing the worn wax from along the edges. This is to help prepare the leather for the new wax, which needs to set smoothly for proper adhesion. Wax edging helps to keep the edges of leather (where the leather is cut and otherwise unprotected) from wear, particularly on handles — where the leather is carried and so affected by abrasion and the accumulation of grease and impurities from hands. However, wax often wears away, leaving the leather’s edges exposed to irreversible wear.
We then used a beeswax to seal the leather’s edges followed by a transparent edge paint, which is made far denser and with higher viscosity and elasticity than regular leather paints. We then applied a final coat of edge paint made from a custom-mixed colour based on the colour of the bag’s original edging and used a specialist finisher to seal in the edge paint and produce a semi-glossy finish on the edging.
Leather binding colour restoration
While the binding around the top of this bag was still in good shape, the leather had started to lose some of its original lustre (especially around the sides of the bag). We began by cleaning and conditioning the leather binding around the top of the bag to remove accumulated dirt and impurities from the surface of the leather. This is a necessary step in preparing the leather for colour in order to achieve a consistent, smooth finish. Conditioning also helps to nourish the leather, and prevent dryness that can impact the overall finish.
We then custom mixed a colour based on the existing leather (using an unworn part of the binding as a reference), and used that to recolour / refinish the binding. We did this in light, thin layers, leaving plenty of time for the leather to dry in between each coat. Finally, we applied our specialist finishing agent, to seal in the colour and protect the leather.
Leather base recolouring / refinishing
As with the leather binding around the top of the bag, the leather panels at the base of the bag had also discoloured (especially around the corners) due to abrasion — these leather panels often bear the brunt of the surfaces on which the bag is placed.
As with the binding, we began by cleaning and conditioning the leather throughout the base of the bag and then custom recoloured / refinished the leather to conceal the discolouration and protect the leather going forward. We were also careful to avoid colouring over the white stitching threads along these leather panels.
Have a Goyard bag needing repair or restoration?
Our experienced craftsmen have been trusted by not only generations of Australians but also local and international brands (including NET-A-PORTER and Gucci) with the repair and restoration of luxury designer bags since 1955. If you have a beloved Goyard bag in need of repair or restoration, ask us for a free diagnosis/quote by completing our online order form — where you can upload photos of the bag and let us know exactly what you would like done to it, or let us advise you on what the bag need based on the photos.
SoleHeeled serves all of Australia through its free 2-way shipping service:
Order online: Answer a few questions to get an instant quote and complete your order.
Send your bag: Drop your bag off at a local post office for free packaging and shipping to us.
We repair: A team of experienced craftsmen will carefully repair your bag.
We return: We'll deliver your repaired bag to you, wherever you are in Australia.
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This Louis Vuitton Neverfull had seen better days, with the leather binding and strapping visibly worn and the monogram canvas around the bottom corners worn through. We replaced the leather parts and altered the bag to remove the damaged canvas.