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What Cartier wants to next make big business? Bags - something the French jeweller has been doing since the beginning of the 20th century. Don't be mistaken though: It's not trying to become a fashion house. Imran Jalal speaks with Marlin Yuson, the maison's creative director of leather goods, about its latest bags - the monogrammed C de Cartier chain bag and utilitarian-cool C de Cartier East-West - and how it's raising the stakes as a luxury accessories maker.

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THE TWO NEW C DE CARTIER BAGS MARK THE FIRST TIME CARTIER IS APPLYING MONOGRAM PATTERNS ONTO ITS BAGS. WHAT WAS THE IDEA BEHIND THIS? 

“My aim was to create a fabric with a motif that exudes a sense of preciousness and into which our monogram is subtly integrated. (This monogrammed fabric is used for the exterior of the C de Cartier chain bag as well as the wide shoulder strap of the C de Cartier East‑West bag, a leather pochette with an extended length.) Initially, we experimented with a woven fabric, but it appeared flat and lacked visual interest. Eventually, we decided to embroider the pattern – and in the case of the chain bag, onto every panel of the bag. I envisioned the result as a contemporary type of lace – when you mention lace, most people instantly think of a grandmother, so I wanted to modernise that perception. At the same time, the shape of the C de Cartier bag is highly graphic with a rigorous feel. The use of fabric is intended to give the perception of a softer bag by contrasting this structured form with some fluidity. This is why I chose to have the embroidery done on the bias instead of vertically.” 

WHAT, TO YOU, IS THE APPEAL OF MONOGRAMS AND HOW IS YOUR APPROACH TO DESIGNING A MONOGRAMMED BAG UNIQUELY CARTIER?