Collina Strada: Handbags for Hipsters
Designer Hillary Taymour doesn’t want to design the next “it” bag, but her youthful, striking designs have “it girl” written all over them.
Launched for Fall 2009, Collina Strada, Taymour’s Los Angeles–based line of handbags, is effortlessly cool and casually chic. Made in Morocco from Italian vegetable-dyed leather and custom-printed textiles, Collina Strada marries Taymour’s fresh-faced luxe bohemian vibe with a contemporary price point. “Girls my age—my friends—don’t want to go out and buy a Givenchy bag. We love them, but even if we could afford them, we’d rather spend our money on other things,” she said. “I design bags that have a high level of design but are affordable and fit my lifestyle.”
Finding inspiration in her own globe-trotting lifestyle, her design-minded friends (friend and textile designer Sael Bartolucci created Collina Strada’s custom prints), classic design and modern fashion, Taymour launched the line with a tight collection of six bags. Standouts from her debut collection include a midnight-blue suede clutch looped in hand-rolled suede tubes and an oversize printed organic-canvas hobo with leather tassels.
Spring 2010 will see new designs, including a harness with a pleated-leather front and hidden inside pockets, a messenger bag that converts into a modified fanny pack, and a hand-painted canvas backpack that can also be worn as a low-slung bucket bag. A former competitive horseback rider, Taymour has equestrian leanings that are evident in the streamlined, utilitarian nature of her Spring designs.
Wholesale prices for Collina Strada range from $90 to $300. For more information, contact The Style Assembly showroom at (213) 622-0184 or visit www.collinastrada.com. —Erin Barajas
