Ava says in the beginning of the novel that she doesn’t understand the allure of the designer handbag; to her, the ownership cannot possibly be worth the price tag. She comes to understand that the value of the handbag lies in its power as a symbol, first and most obviously of status; the consumer who can afford a luxury handbag will, one assumes, be able to enjoy a life full of other luxuries as well.

The handbags work as a marker of the illusion or counterfeit that Winnie and Ava are engineering and represent the façade both women present to the world. For Ava, over the course of the novel, the handbag comes to represent independence. Buying the amethyst Kelly handbag when she is at the replica mall in Guangzhou is an assertion of autonomy. She earned her own money, free of her husband’s control, and she can afford to spoil herself if she wishes. More than that, when she perceives how people look at her in customs, Ava feels the Kelly is part of the illusion she is presenting to the world.

The red crocodile Birkin that Boss Mak gives Ava when she visits Dongguan is another symbol that implicates Ava in the counterfeit scheme.