Three new leather goods labels to know now (including Meghan Markle's favourite)
It’s not easy coming up with something new in bags. You’d think it has all been done by now. Even trickier when you don’t’ have teams of highly paid designers at your disposal.
Yet the tougher the luxury business gets, the more powerful the big brands grow, the more teeny start-ups there seem to be. It’s as if the challenges become irresistible. The results? Chic, surprising, under-the-radar labels that offer a fresh eye on the bag and leather goods’ scene.
Bags under £300
Somehow, three new British labels have come up with something interesting yet understated – and all of them devoid of obvious branding and blingy hardware.
Take Stelar, a diminutive line up of distinctive, sleek clutches and purses and one round leather bag – next year’s shape of choice. A labour primarily of love, it’s the offspring of Lorna Watson, a former jewellery designer who worked at Dior, De Beers and Astley Clarke, holidayed in Bali and saw a chance to boost the “exceptional artisanal skills” which were slowly dying as low paid, undervalued craftspeople drifted into tourism jobs.
Blue circlular bag, £xx; Monochrome wallet, £xxx; Multicoloured clutch bag, £xx, Stelar
Sustainability has become a growing creed , but it’s only viable if the end product appeals to affluent customers. Stelar’s bags are instantly desirable, subtly different without being gimmicky.
Every item is hand cut and woven from leather and comes with its own code that allows customers to track its origins and the person who made it on line These are not a cheap buy, but they they’re lovely: sleek, chic and a model for the way things can work.
Tutti tote, from £900, Innis London
Innis’s bags are also exceptionally covetable and slyly distinctive. Like Stellar, Innis has hit on a quiet aesthetic that somehow holds your attention. Perhaps that’s not so surprising, given its founder and designer, Innis Chandor worked on J&M Davidson’s bags for years. Designed in London, made in Italy, there are five different shapes in a changing roster of colours, all leather lined but exceptionally light, deceptive spacious and functional. The bottle green lined cream Tutti tote is on my Wanted list, but their winter red is pretty damn fabulous too.
Leather Washbag, £275, Stow London
And for stylish organisers there’s Stow London, a selection of irresistible travel accessories, from suede-lined leather jewellery cases to luggage tags, iPad and cable holders, made in Spain but conceived in Cambridgeshire, by Carol Lovell, who worked in travel but now spends her time making paper blue-prints of her accessories. So far, Stow is pleasingly niche and Meghan Markle is a very engaged fan (she writes personal recommendations to Lovell). You know what that means…
Lovely colours and quality and not overly compartmentalised like some, they promise an orderly transit experience where nothing gets left behind and everything’s in its place. If only.
