Story by Laia Garcia-Furtado / Photography and video by James Bee / Styling by Mel Reneé Leamon / Hair by Tsuki / Makeup by Mimi Quiquine
GOOGLE and PAPER came together to highlight the SMALL BUSINESSES that are LEADING the BIGGEST TRENDS of the summer based on Google’s trending search data.
We're currently experiencing an It-bag renaissance. Whether it's a practical carry-all that fits everything we need to get through our work day, small clutches for our night-out essentials or teeny-tiny renditions that more closely resemble a piece of jewelry, the one thing they all have in common is their boundary-pushing designs. Covered in fringe, covered in exotic (faux) animal skins or rendered in architectural-inspired shapes, our interest in finding the most unique bags is at an all-time high. Enter Charles Gross, who has gone viral on TikTok by sharing his take on his favorite handbag styles. Here, he gets a few of the coolest independent designers to talk about their creative inspiration and reveal just why bags are having a moment.
LUAR
“The shape of the ‘Ana’ bag is an homage to all the classic handbags from the past,” Luar’s designer Raul Lopez tells Gross. “Everyone loves a classic, a bag you hand down.” It’s not surprising that Lopez describes the inspiration for what’s arguably the bag of the year as “family;” the bag is named after several women in the designer’s life. The structured bag’s geometric shapes make it the focal point of any outfit. “Bags are the new shoes, they complete your whole look.” Lopez explains. “It used to be that you created your look from your shoes up, but now you create your look around your bag.”
HOMAGE YEAR
“Life is cyclical; fashion is, art is, everything is,” Antoine Manning, the 22-year-old designer behind Homage Year tells Gross, his wisdom exceeding his age. “The choices we make are our response to the resistance of life while attempting to create something fresh, almost like an apple.” Though Manning takes his craft seriously, his “Patience” and “Romance” bags, with their bean-shaped details and bright colors, like cherry red and sparkly pink, showcase his optimistic approach to life. “We want our designs to tell the story of faith versus fear, trials and triumph,” Manning adds.
COPERNI
With deep-seeded inspiration stemming from the iPhone and other technologies, it’s hardly surprising that Coperni founders Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer cite Trinity from The Matrix as the fictional character they’d love to see carrying their bag. “We try to showcase our time with the fashion we create,” they tell Gross. “Almost all [our bags] are inspired by the digital and technological iconography of the objects we use all day long.” Enter the “Swipe” bag, with its infinite oval shape inspired by the airplane mode icon. Earlier this year they produced a version made entirely out of glass, which caused a minor furor online. Their dream version? “A ‘Swipe’ bag made totally with pure gold bars.”
FORBITCHES
“[Fashion] is about feeling like a princess,” forBitches founder Giovanni Forbice (get it?), tells Gross. “It’s a dream come true from when you were a kid and playing with your dolls.” Take a look at his bags, molded in the shape of butterflies and bows, and sometimes decorated with rhinestones, and the nostalgia is obvious. But just because the ForBitches aesthetic is hyper-cute doesn’t mean it’s without a stronger side. “[Bags are an important part of an outfit] because you can hit somebody that’s being rude to you... and that’s hot.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
MOWALOLA
Mowalola’s aesthetic is instantly recognizable. The Central Saint Martins graduate’s sensibility infuses visual markers from her Nigerian heritage and mixes it with the chaos of London’s nightclub scenes. Her “Bundle Bag” acts as a perfect accessory for a night out, with enough space for the essentials like lip gloss or chapstick and a credit card, dangling from a wrist while you dance the night away.
KARA
“It’s fluidity and optimism,” Kara’s Sarah Law tells Gross about the inspiration behind her bag. “Bags are like icing on a cake. Great icing is everything,” she adds with a smile. Looking at her creations, visual feasts sparkling in shiny crystal mesh or tactile sensory dreams made up of hundreds of tiny silver orbs, her bags instantly spark joy. “I want my designs to tell a story of open mindedness and radical acceptance, and encourage people to appreciate themselves exactly for who they are.”
PETIT KOURAJ
“The story of Petit Kouraj is a tale of what happens when you decide to put your dreams first and leave your fears in the backseat,” Nasrin Jean-Baptiste tells Gross. Formerly a stylist, she founded Petit Kouraj inspired by the rich culture of her island homeland of Haiti. For her, bags carry a particular energy that can influence your approach to everyday life. “Choosing a bag is as personal as choosing a fragrance,” she adds. “Its power is in its inherent ability to skew an outfit in a particular direction, whether it be fun, playful, sexy or serious.”
AMINA MUADDI
Amina Muaddi’s shoes and handbags exist in a brightly colored, maximalist universe. The designer, who is of Romanian and Jordanian descent, always emphasizes a certain tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top femininity that can find its place with women of a certain age at formal affairs, or young women out partying with a satin bag embellished with rhinestones ready at their side.
PUPPETS AND PUPPETS
One thing that’s immediately apparent when looking at Carly Mark’s collections for Puppets and Puppets is their innate sense of humor. “I love fashion and I love what I do, but I try not to take all of it too seriously,” she tells Gross. “I love a bit of dark humor. I’ve lived here for 16 years, so it’s all coming from a very New York perspective.” This spirit is most evident in her metallic blue handbag, proudly emblazoned with a cruller pastry — the perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee served in that classic Greek paper cup.
VP Production, Talent: Katie Karole / Digital Director, Talent: Justin Moran / Art, Fashion Director: Malcolm Mammone / Executive Creative Director: Jordan Bradfield / Managing Editor (SBLBT): Laia Garcia-Furtado / Managing Editor (PAPER): Eliza Weinreb / Photographer, Video Director: James Bee, Outcast Studio / DP: William Wu, Outcast Studio / Gaffer: David Woon / AC: Griffin Deutsch / Digi Tech: Jacky Jiang / Sound Mixer: Nathan Bonetto / Editor: Chiao Chen / Stylist: Mel Reneé Leamon / Hair: Tsuki / Makeup: Mimi Quiquine / Nails: Nori Yamanaka / Stylist Assistant: Cyrenae Tademy / Set Design: Eric Mestman / Producer: David Wright / Creative Project Coordinator: Elise Sullivan / Production Coordinator: Chelsea Wooten / Market Editor: Emma Sayer, Abby Bencie / Partnerships: Caitlin Sharp, Bonnie Monk / Web Design: Composite
