Designer Profile

Browse recent Designer Profile bags below:

Monica Botkier’s career started off as a fashion photographer, shooting for several top international magazines. Destined to create the perfect stylish work bag, that could fit all of her necessities, Monica set out to create the ultimate bag — The Botkier Trigger Bag was born.

It was an instant hit among fashion editors and friends, and in 2003 her handbag collection kicked off. Since then her collection has continued to grow and in Spring 2008, for the Botkier 5 year anniversary she added shoes to her collection.

Today, Botkier is more popular than ever. Monica designs the most fabulous handbags for thousands of devoted purse obsessed fans around the globe — which includes her long list of celebrity fans, such as Heidi Klum, Joy Bryant, Rhianna, Leelee Sobieski, Angelina Jolie, Michelle Trachtenberg, Vanessa Hudgens, Lake Bell, the list can go on..

What’s so special about her bags is that season after season, since the birth of the Trigger bag in 2003, Monica Botkier combines creativity, wearability at a reasonable price tag.

You can find her marvelous creations at many online boutiques. Here are my favorites with the best deals: shop goldyn (oh my gosh, 40% off! code: ADD40) Luna Boston (all Botkiers on sale!), Revolve Clothing (handbags, shoes and accessories), ShopBop (a Ziggy for only $250! use code: 20OFF), Saks Fifth Avenue, PiperLime (bags and shoes on sale), My-Wardrobe (new styles just in), Nordstrom,  coming soon to net-a-porter, and finally the Botkier home site.

And I recently got the chance to exchange some Q+A’s with this designer!

CONTINUE READING FOR THE INTERVIEW
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September 10, 2008
post written by Bag Bliss blogger: Jennifer

Interview with Andrea Brueckner
I recently got the chance to exchange a brief Q + A with the one and only fabulous Andrea Brueckner, plus I was also lucky enough to browse through her amazing fall / winter 2008 handbag look book – plus have images to share!

Canadian born Andrea Brueckner moved to New York in 1999 to study design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. At first, she studied not to be an accessory designer, but rather clothing design with an emphasis in tailoring. While in school she internet with fabulous designers like Jill Stuart and Carolina Herrera. Before she went on to launching her own line, Andrea apprenticed under the bespoke menswear tailor Craig Robinson where she worked to master the classic art of tailoring. There she acquired many draping and patternmaking techniques, while also learning to appreciate the importance of good fit.

Andrea fuses her love for design with her acquired technique to create unique handbags, and continues to draw inspiration from clothing design, incorporating garment details and techniques into her accessories.

Her handbag line was launched in the Spring of 2004, and is now entering its tenth season.

Continue Reading: Andrea Brueckner Interview + Look Book!
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August 20, 2008
post written by Bag Bliss blogger: Jennifer
Interview: Fiona Kotur Marin
Native New Yorker, now Hong Kong based designer Fiona Kotur Marin founded Kotur, the retro-glamour luxury accessory brand, in 2004, after discovering a vast treasure trove of decorative vintage fabric woven by European Couture Houses during the 60’s and 70’s.

Her background experience comes from designing accessories for Polo Ralph Lauren, Gap, and collaborating with long time friend, Tory Burch when launching her line.

She may have started out in the beginning by creating truely one-of-a-kind limited edition vintage brocade clutches, but since then she has added incredible exotics, metals, shells, lucite and rattan and has expanded her collection to include gorgeous minaudieres, everyday bags, work totes and evening clutches.

I was lucky enough to conducted a Q+A with this star designer and also take a sneak peak at some of her new pieces.

See below for the interview + a couple images:

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December 2, 2005

Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney was born in London in 1971 to Beatle Paul McCartney and photographer wife, Linda. She graduated from St Martin’s in 1995 and her final year collection had the rare accolade of being bought by influential stores such as Browns, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. She launched her own line immediately on leaving college.

Her style of combining sharp tailoring with humour and sexy femininity was immediately apparent in her first collection. In 1997, after only two collections, she became the creative director of the house of Chloe in Paris. Chloe’s commercial success was stratospheric since her arrival and her collections and advertising campaigns for the house of Chloe were universally praised by both buyers and press.

Stella McCartney was awarded the VH1 / Vogue Fashion and Music 2000 Designer of the Year award.

In April of 2001 Stella McCartney resigned from Chloe and launched her own fashion house under her name in partnership with Gucci Group.

In October 2001 Stella McCartney showed her Spring/Summer 2002 Collection in Paris. Following the collection, Stella McCartney announced the launch of a perfume in 2003.

January 2002 Stella McCartney and Gary hume presented a collaboration of handmade t shirts and dresses at the Thaddeus Ropac Gallery in Paris. A silent auction was held on the night and the proceeds donated to RAWA.
source: www.infomat.com

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December 2, 2005

Dooney & Bourke
Dooney & Bourke has over a quarter century of experience combining superior materials and fine craftsmanship with traditional designs to create enduring, functional fine leather goods.

Founded in 1975 by H. Peter Dooney and Frederick Bourke, Dooney & Bourke took off with the development of All-Weather Leather-fine calfskin naturally processed to make it virtually indestructible. With hand stitching and solid brass hardware, handbags from this revolutionary leather look good and wear well. This early fusion of durability, functionality, and classic style has become the Dooney & Bourke hallmark.

In the past years Dooney & Bourke has introduced a whole host of collections inspired by new, innovative materials: from the water-proof rubber bottom of the Parasole line, specialty dyed French and Italian leathers, to the ecologically sound Bayou collection of alligator and ostrich print calfskin. Dooney & Bourke’s wide range of handbag designs includes everything from backpacks and stylish totes to lady-like small flap bags.

Each Dooney & Bourke product, from the pod backpack to the classic hobo, is united by a commitment to high function, good looks, and durability. Dooney & Bourke leather goods improve with time and wear to become a distinctive expression of their owner’s unique style.
source: www.dooney.com

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November 23, 2005

Luella Bartley
Since launching in 1999, London-based Luella Bartley has been delivering effortless street-chic season after season. Her eternal muse is the rebel Brit “It” girl who can’t help but be adorable in her pink button-down shirts tucked into skintight jeans or layered under Bartley’s favorite striped sweaters. Bartley mixes themes with ?lan: punk motorcycle jackets with gingham skirts; little black dresses with pearls for polka dots; preppy navy, red, and white. Add to this Bartley’s always in-demand accessories lineup of cool leather bags and shoes.

The Central Saint Martins grad and onetime British Vogue editor still lives in London – with fashion-photographer boyfriend David Sims and their two children – even though she’s been showing in New York since 2001. In a flip-flop setup, Bartley’s first few shows featured friends like Sadie Frost walking the runway while model pal Kate Moss watched from the front row. In January 2006, Bartley was selected to launch Target’s Go International line.
source: www.nymag.com

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November 13, 2005

Christian Dior
Christian Dior’s reputation as one of the most important couturiers of the twentieth century was launched in 1947 with his very first collection, in which he introduced the “New Look.” Featuring rounded shoulders, a cinched waist, and very full skirt, the New Look celebrated ultra-femininity and opulence in women’s fashion. After years of military and civilian uniforms, sartorial restrictions and shortages, Dior offered not merely a new look but a new outlook.

Born and raised in Normandy, France, Dior moved with his parents to Paris when he was ten. After studying political science, he served in the military. His design career did not begin until 1935, when he returned to Paris and began selling sketches. The designer Robert Piguet hired him in 1938. During World War II, Dior served in the south of France, thenreturned again to Paris in 1941 and worked for Lucien Lelong at a much larger design house. In 1946, backed by textile manufacturer Marcel Boussac, he opened his own house.

Dior helped to restore a beleaguered postwar Paris as the capital of fashion. Each of his collections throughout this period had a theme. Spring 1947 was “Carolle” or “figure 8,” a name that suggested the silhouette of the new look with its prominent shoulders, accentuated hips, and small waist. The spring 1953 collection, dubbed “Tulip,” featured an abundance of floaty, flowery prints. Spring 1955’s “A-line,” with its undefined waist and smooth silhouette that widened over the hips and legs, resembled a capital “A.” Some of Dior’s designs simulated Second Empire and other historical styles, but he was also creating menswear, trompe-l’oeil detailing, and soft-to-hard juxtapositions, making them part of the modern wardrobe. By his final collections, Dior, feeling the need for a more limber silhouette and lifestyle, was designing chemises, narrow tunics, and sari-like wraps.

Together with his partner Jacques Rouet, Dior pioneered license agreements in the fashion business. By 1948, he had arranged lucrative licensing deals for fur, stockings, and perfumes, which not only generated revenue but also made him a household name. While the House of Dior is still a thriving business today, Dior’s untimely death in 1957 left the fashion world without a great dictator of style. Christian Dior designed under his own name for only a decade, but his influence will be felt for many years to come.

In 1949 Christian Dior changed the direction of mid-century fashion with his extravagantly feminine “New Look.” Today, the label’s head designer John Galliano has established the look of the “Anything Goes” era with his own extreme makeover of the house.
source: www.metmuseum.org

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October 27, 2005

Cristobal Balenciaga
A true fashion innovator, Cristobal Balenciaga radically altered the fashionable silhouette of women in the mid-twentieth century. With the methodical skill of an expert tailor, he created garments of fluidity and grace. Unlike many couturiers, Balenciaga was able to drape, cut, and fit his own muslin patterns, known as toiles. He was respected throughout the fashion world for both his knowledge of technique and construction, and his unflinching perfectionism.

Balenciaga was born in the small fishing village of Guetaria in the Basque region of Spain on January 21, 1895. From his early years, he spent many hours by his mother’s side as she worked as a seamstress. In his teens, the most prominent woman of his town, the Marquesa de Casa Torres, became his patron and client, sending him to Madrid for formal training in tailoring and proudly wearing the results. Balenciaga found early success in his native country. He opened branches of his boutique Eisa in Madrid, Barcelona, and the fashionable seaside resort of San Sebasti?n. His designs were favored by the Spanish royal family and fashionable members of the aristocracy. When the Spanish Civil War forced the closure of his boutiques, Balenciaga moved his operation to Paris, the acknowledged fashion capital of the world. There the talented designer joined the ranks of Coco Chanel, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Mainbocher, among other established couturiers.

In August 1937, Balenciaga staged his first runway show at his Avenue George V atelier, showing a collection that was heavily influenced by the Spanish Renaissance. Balenciaga interpreted numerous historical styles throughout his career. His “Infanta” gown was inspired by the costumes of the young Spanish princesses from portraits by Diego Vel?zquez, while the short, heavily ornamented “jacket of light” traditionally worn by toreadors in the bullfighting ring inspired much of his evening wear. By 1939, Balenciaga was being praised in the French press as a revolutionizing force in fashion, with buyers and customers fighting to gain access to his collection. During World War II, clients risked travel to Europe for Balenciaga’s designs, especially his celebrated square coat-in which the sleeve was cut in one piece with the yoke-and anything shown in his unique color combination of black and brown or black lace over bright pink. In the postwar years, Balenciaga’s designs became streamlined and linear. The clothing he created was different than the popular, curvy hourglass shape that Christian Dior promoted with his New Look. Balenciaga favored fluid lines that allowed him to alter the way clothing related to a woman’s body. Waistlines were dropped, then raised, independent of the wearer’s natural waistline.

In 1953, he introduced the balloon jacket, an elegant sphere that encased the upper body and provided a pedestal for the wearer’s head. In 1957 came the creation of his high-waisted baby doll dress, the gracefully draped cocoon coat, and the balloon skirt, shown as a single pouf or doubled, one pouf on top of the other. Neither the sack dress, introduced in 1957, nor the chemise of 1958 had a discernible waist, but both were considered universally flattering and were copied by a large number of ready-to-wear manufacturers at every price range. With these design innovations, Balenciaga achieved what is considered to be his most important contribution to the world of fashion: a new silhouette for women.

Throughout the 1960s, Balenciaga continued showing collections of unparalleled technique and beauty. His innovative use of fabric-he liked bold materials, heavy cloths, and ornate embroideries-led him to work with the Swiss fabric house of Abraham. Together they developed silk gazar, a stiffer version of the pliable fabric that Balenciaga used in suits, day dresses, and evening wear. Loyal clients such as the Duchess of Windsor, Pauline de Rothschild, and Gloria Guinness continued to appreciate the discreet but important touches he provided in his clothing: collars that stood away from the collarbone to give a swanlike appearance and the shortened (seven-eighths-length) bracelet sleeve, so called because it enabled the wearer to better flaunt her jewelry. When the Balenciaga salon closed in 1968, the occasion marked the end of the career of a great artist whose influence is still being felt in the twenty-first century. The modern look that he created has been sustained by Andre Courreges and Emanuel Ungaro, who both apprenticed at his atelier, and by Hubert de Givenchy, among others.

Balenciaga died on March 24, 1972, at home in his beloved Spain. A longtime client offered a fitting epitaph: “Women did not have to be perfect or even beautiful to wear his clothes. His clothes made them beautiful.”
source: www.metmuseum.org

Current Designer
Formerly an assistant, Nicolas Ghesquiere actually requested the creative director position at Balenciaga. He’s given the house a completely new image, and has only recently revived classic Balenciaga looks.

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