"When you think of fashion, you think of change in design," Hindmarch said. "When I look to American designers, I think it's more commercial. Directional is not the first word that comes to mind. There's also a huge shift in America with department stores. I do a lot of business here with Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom — it might be a slightly more conventional market than dealing with smaller specialty boutiques."

But if the U.S. is ever to establish itself as an accessories leader, perhaps the fashion community needs to reassess its point of view. While major designers such as Ralph Lauren have had significant success in accessories, they still represent the minority of their business. European brands like Vuitton and Gucci, on the other hand, get the bulk of their sales from accessories.

"Big names here, like Ralph, Donna, Calvin, they are based in rtw and extended into accessories as a secondary manner, and the American buying community thinks of it that way," said Frank Zambrelli, president and creative director of Leiber. "We need to realign our prioritization as an American industry to put forth as much effort in accessories as the Europeans have."

The industry may be recognizing that designers such as Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera and Vera Wang are increasingly focusing on their accessories businesses, as are firms such as Theory and Elie Tahari. Meanwhile, the younger generation of designers such as Phillip Lim, Zac Posen and Derek Lam (who's also creative director of Italian brand Tod's) sees it as a huge potential gold mine.

"We've invested heavily into our accessories business in terms of production, design, luxury and innovation," Posen said. "Bags can be designed anywhere, but it's about creating classics."

Donna Karan photo by Robert Mitra; Marc Jacobs by Giovanni Giannoni