To date, he hasn’t heard immediately from any main manufacturers, positively or negatively. “Early on, 11 of my movies had been flagged by the LVMH Group for allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise, which wasn’t the case,” he says. His account was briefly suspended, however after posting a video explaining the misunderstanding, Instagram reinstated it. He does, nonetheless, obtain loads of optimistic suggestions from smaller manufacturers, who thank him for recognizing their craftsmanship and for difficult the luxurious sector’s affect over customers.
Past simply suggestions, Yilmaz has additionally grow to be an educator, instructing his followers find out how to acknowledge high quality leather-based items. “Search for pure, unaltered leather-based,” he says, advising patrons to observe for distinctive grain patterns, stable stitching, and sturdy {hardware}. He additionally warns in opposition to obscure labels: “If it simply says ‘real leather-based,’ that’s often an indication the model has little to boast about by way of materials high quality.”
Given his background, it’s not shocking that Yilmaz is passionate concerning the topic. Raised in a household of leather-based staff in Turkey, he realized the commerce from a younger age, even crafting his first leather-based jacket at age 11. His model, Pegai, which started on Etsy eight years in the past, displays his dedication to high quality, that includes high-end leather-based and {hardware} sourced from Spanish artisans—what he calls “accessible luxurious.”
Whereas Yilmaz’s rise to fame would possibly seem advantageous for Pegai, he hardly ever makes use of his channel to advertise his personal model. “I seldom point out my model in evaluations, so some viewers don’t understand I’ve one,” he says. “Often, if I’m sharing an replace or associated story, I’ll point out Pegai, which boosts direct gross sales. However in any other case, belief builds over time as viewers respect my content material and ultimately hunt down my model.”
He has poured numerous hours and sources into constructing his status, even as soon as hiring an investigator in Singapore to confirm a model’s declare that its baggage had been domestically produced. “That’s how far I’m prepared to go to get to the reality,” he says.
His ardour for leather-based extends past finish merchandise to the ethics and sustainability of the business itself. Whereas leather-based has come underneath scrutiny for its environmental influence, Yilmaz sees it as a priceless byproduct of the meat business, stopping hides from turning into waste. He argues that real leather-based’s sturdiness makes it a more sensible choice than plastics, which are sometimes marketed as “vegan leather-based.”
“There’s nothing vegan or leather-based about that plastic labeling,” he says, criticizing the development as deceptive. Nonetheless, he acknowledges the efforts of some manufacturers to create true vegan options from pure fibers resembling mushroom or cactus, although he believes they’ve but to satisfy the sturdiness and high quality of actual leather-based.
Via his content material, Yilmaz helps form a brand new wave of knowledgeable customers who’re much less all for standing symbols and extra centered on the values behind their purchases. Together with his real curiosity and willingness to spend his personal cash on the analysis, Yilmaz has managed to disrupt an business that when felt untouchable.
And although he might have began by merely asking why a Louis Vuitton bag prices a lot, his journey has led him to query your entire luxurious ecosystem. In a world obsessive about model names, his message, preaching to tens of millions of Gen Zers through vertical video, is refreshingly clear and (whisper it) decidedly old-school: True luxurious isn’t concerning the emblem—it’s concerning the artistry, supplies, and values behind the model.
