I found a very innovative bag designer a while ago - Inés Figaredo! On
her web site it states that her "collections cut across fashion trends with a timeless and proven worth: every model is a priceless collector's item. Figaredo's philosophy is to offer a single art-bags Collection per year which will be completed with fresh and haunting surprises from time to time launched accordingly. Some items will only be created on demand due to the painstaking dedication they require and also to preserve their exclusivity. These art-bags shall be personalized if our customers wish it."
Here are a few examples from her collections!
Lucid Thoughts
This collection is inspired by "the powerful human rationality, its spontaneous imagination and subsequent creative artistry."
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| Sport Hen |
Black leather with 18 karat gold fittings.
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| Walnut Resin |
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| Walnut Resin |
Hand painted solid wood or resin bag, with 18 karat gold plated brass clasp and chain strap.
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| Apple Caramel (with stick) |
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| Apple Caramel (with stick) |
Enameled resin Apple Candy bag with 18 karat gold chain and decorations. Also available without the holding stick.
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| Hamlet |
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| Hamlet |
Jointed sculpture skull bag decorated with Swarovski crystals, enameled teeth and 18 karat gold plated fittings.
Aperture
"The pursuit of beauty as a state of grace, a vehicle to recover innocence lost. Wheels, hearts, bullfighters, telephones, faces, paper bins, circus tents, suitcases, lyres, world globes seem to have been drawn from surrealist paintings or fantasy paradises. Imagination and dreams wishing to become real."
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| Toro |
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| Toro |
Superbe colt and iguana skin hand bag. The bull head is sculpted from 24 karat gold plated bronze. The raw silk cross body double handle is plaited by hand and finished with iguana skin trimming.
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| Big Paper Bin |
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| Big Paper Bin |
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| Big Paper Bin |
Python skin and fine Spanish nappa trim hand bag. 24 karat gold plated bronze handcrafted clasp. Dozens of hand sewn fine nappa strips mimicking wastepaper.
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| Big Circus |
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| Big Circus |
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| Big Circus |
Striped silk satin hand bag embroidered with silk circus motifs. 24 karat gold bronze decorations embellished with Swarovski crystals. Fine nappa hand plaited handle finished with snake skin flounces.
Nature
This collection pays tribute to Nature. It is Figaredo's "homage to the mystery of life, its ethos, and its convulsive and captivating beauty."
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| Big Butterfly |
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| Big Butterfly |
Fine Spanish nappa hand bag. Handcrafted 20 karat gold plated bronze clasp and 68 differently sized butterflies. The bag contains a nappa coin purse.
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| Apples |
This bag consists of three karat gold plated bronze apples that may serve as jewel boxes with key. Fine Spanish nappa and certified python skin trimming shoulder strap adorned with two 24 karat gold plated bronze butterflies.
4 Against 4
This collection represents "the challenge of integration, harmony and balance without losing a bit of provocation and creative freedom but taking the challenge of 'deconstruction' of parts for imaginative ergonomics and a melange of textures, finishes and and shapes that symbolize the complexity of the universe bellied."
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| Gold Hand |
Hand sculpture bag with gold plated brass shell and tooled Italian nappa sack.
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| Gloved Hand |
Chain mail glove shaped bag with gold plated Sterling silver fittings, topped with pearls. Spanish nappa with gold and silver thread embroidery.
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| Romantic Lyre |
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| Romantic Lyre |
A lyre shaped bag of fine Spanish nappa and certified python skin. Gold plated bronze adornments with hand sculpted leaves and flowers.
Accessories
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| Mirror |
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| Comb |
Solid silver and gold plated brass handcrafted jewelry accessories. The packaging is either a cardboard box with die cut foam rubber interior or a nylon and coconut fiber vanity bag.
