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The new bag ladies
With all the hype around Fashion Week, most eyes were on the clothes. In fact, if they featured at all, accessories and bags in particular for the most part seemed to fade into the background. But for CLiCK Me’s Sophie Donovan, you just can’t go past a good bag and here she offers up a few of her favourite new designer ladies (and gents). Deadly Ponies; going beyond the stereotype With a recent New York fashion success under their belt, Deadly Ponies treated New Zealand Fashion Week to a peek into their bag of tricks. Dynamic duo Liam Bowden and Katie Smith’s show encompassed a mix of tried-and-true old favourites and exciting new flavours creating a melting pot of textures ignited by a touch of tribal flare. The collection featured sculptural forms combining both cow and deer leather adorned with the added touch of hand lashings and finishing inspired by the ancient Aztecs. But it hasn’t all been plain sailing for this iconic kiwi bag partnership. Bowden remarks on the difficulties an accessory brand faces in the Fashion Week arena. “It’s hard to get over stereotypes and misconceptions around an accessory brand showing at Fashion Week. I think people find it hard to grasp why we bother doing it, so it’s harder to build the hype.” He says they’re close to launching an online store, which will feature the new all-year-round collection, Deadly Ponies Classic; the most popular bag styles in classic black; a must have for bag fans. The new jewellery collection, Deadly Ponies Precious was launched at this year’s Fashion Week and marks an important expansion for the business. If they only did shoes and hats too Deadly Ponies would be the one-stop accessory shop. But for now, with summer just around the corner Bowden hails the ‘Plastic Bag’ as his favourite piece from the latest Raspberry Bouquet collection. The Plastic Bag, ironically made of cow leather, is slouchy chic with a difference. “The Plastic Bag is modelled on the design of a plastic shopping bag. It is an everyday shape but this version looks a bit different.” Other items in the Raspberry Bouquet range build on the soft leather theme with strong lines and adorned with zips, fringes and accessorised with the Deadly Ponies Precious melancholia referenced jewellery including skulls and bone carved flowers. Paris House goes shopping When Paris met Paris House, a love-child that combines quirkiness with cult style status was born. Chic Parisian design store Colette has snapped up New Zealand bag and wallet brand Paris House, conceived by conceptual artist Sharon Paris. Colette is a Eurovision of art/fashion collaborations and luxury items that during the French prêt-à-porter season, provides a faultless fashion-fix for fashion editors and the like. Paris House’s iconoclastic and personalized designs are the perfect fit for this concisely edited one-stop-shop for beautiful and unusual designer items. Paris says “Getting Paris House into Colette took a lot of hard work. Every product they sell, they’re endorsing as cool just because Colette says so. So I felt a real sense of achievement. You wake up each day, work hard and then do it all again the next. Getting the order from Colette is one of those things that made me stop and reflect on how far I’d come. It is an honour for me to get their seal of approval.” When Paris designed her first collection in 2005, she thought choosing wallets would be a simple beginning. “At the time I thought how hard could it be? However there were so many pockets, seams, finishes and other things to think about. Once we conquered the world of wallet design I decided it was time to try my hand at bags.” In this season’s collection Paris introduces “The Shopper.” Originally a bag designed for women, when the sample came back Paris realised it would work for men as well. “For me this meant we really met the brief, the bag is so simple with no additional flourishes that leave style-fiends of both sexes beguiled. The artwork ‘Between a rock and a hard place’ brings a smile to our owners’ faces and fulfils our mission statement, which in turn, makes me smile.” And with success like this, smiling is exactly what Sharon Paris should be doing. British brilliance hits the streets of NZ A luxury bag is a ‘must-have’ item for any modern woman’s wardrobe. High fashion brands such as ‘Louis Vuitton’ and ‘Chloe’ are often thrown around in the celebrity lime-light and labelled the ‘It-Bag.’ However, British fashion designers have some new and perhaps more exciting ideas to offer New Zealand women through some of our contemporary design stores. London’s squeaky-clean bad-ass, Luella Bartley, is currently on the loose on the streets of New Zealand with her fresh collection of in-demand handbags. PVC polka-dots, vintage-inspired shoulder bags and quilted oversized numbers are but a taste of her latest classic yet offbeat drop. In terms of luxury, Luella’s concoctions have a little more spunk than the average bag. They ooze Luella’s rebel Brit “It-girl” muse, who looks adorable whilst edgy in her pink button-down shirt tucked into skin-tight jeans. Margot Johnson who handpicks Luella Bartley’s bags for her Auckland store ‘Made’ is fascinated by her ability to combine sophistication with a quirky charm. “Luella bags get top marks for quality, attention to detail as well as affordability. But they manage to effortlessly complement a range of individual styles.” Dame Vivienne Westwood, goddess of punk, new wave and the like is anxiously awaited in the little hub of Jaimie boutique in Ponsonby, Auckland. Currently stocking Vivienne Westwood's Anglomania Collection, the store recently decided to branch into the realm of bags. “We love her whole style, her timelessness and the way she challenges conformity,” says Di Armstrong of Jaimie Boutique. Her collection of bags which are set to arrive at Jaimie in the coming months, are a ‘cross-section of everything Westwood’; a real British feel with echoes of Westwood’s punk past. Funky tartans and glossy leathers provide a punky edge to a classic style. Its pure British brilliance; well worth waiting for. www.deadlyponies.com www.deadyponiesprecious.com http://www.luella.com/ www.madestore.co.nz http://www.jaimie.co.nz/ http://www.viviennewestwood.com/flash.php 
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