Anya Hindmarch ( Anya Hindmarch handbags ) is a British accessories designer known mostly for her leather handbags as well as small leather goods, luggage, shoes and clothes. Now, She has thirty stores across the world.
Anya Hindmarch
Hindmarch was born in Essex to a self-made, wealthy father. She was educated at a Roman Catholic convent school. Aged 16, Hindmarch was given an old Gucci handbag by her mother. At that point, she was planning to attend University. The bag, however, made her feel so good that she dropped her plans of going to University and instead, she went to Florence and learnt how to speak Italian.
Noticing that a drawstring leather duffel bag was increasingly popular among fashionable women, Hindmarch borrowed $1,000 to import some bags to England from Italy. She sent it to a fashion magazine, Harpers and Queen, and the publicity that followed the magazine's article, allowed Hindmarch to sell 500 such bags.
After learning to produce her own bags in Hackney, inspired by Margaret Thatcher, Hindmarch opened a small shop in Walton Street, London at age 19. Her early products were based heavily on Italian design principles. All her products, she says, are based on the quality of workmanship, and represent a design philosophy that supposed to be "British, humorous and bespoke". Her designs are also influenced by her love of classical architecture, which she progresses as a hobby with into architectural reclamation.
In 2001, Hindmarch launched the charity promotion Be a Bag , which allows customers to have their own photographs printed onto a bag.
In 2002, she launched her line of shoes in partnership with craftsmen from Venice. The Bespoke Ebury bag, one of her most famous, was launched to celebrate Anya Hindmarch’s tenth anniversary following visits to the Italian tanneries where leather is hand rolled in the time honoured fashion. Her First Class Amenity kit, designed for British Airways, helped her gain acclaim and recognition as a designer.
In 2007, she created much attention with her " I Am Not A Plastic Bag " canvas tote, which was designed in partnership with the U.K. activist organization We Are What We Do, which tries to inspire people to use their everyday actions to change the world. The group approached Hindmarch to begin work on an accessible, affordable and environmental bag that would encourage people to reduce their use of plastic bags. The bag gained popularity after celebrities including Keira Knightley, Alicia Silverstone and singer Lily Allen were photographed carrying it.
In both 2006 and 2007, Anya Hindmarch ( Anya Hindmarch handbags ) won Designer of the Year by Glamour magazine, and became the first winner of the Designer brand of the Year at the 2007 British Fashion Awards.
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