Today is going to be a bit of a different post because I would like to introduce you all to Elena Kara who is a new fashion designer from Athens. She actually went to NYC to attend Parsons School of Design where she did her BFA in Integrated Fashion Design. Elena has also interned at established fashion labels like Donna Karan, John Vravatos and Alice + Olivia.
I was first introduced to Elena by my wonderful work colleague Angelika and immediately fell in love with her pieces, because they were just so different and yet so beautiful. The first range she has just launched the Solid Connections collections.
Stunning aren't they?
The really unique thing about these bags are the materials used to make them, she actually uses marble! Can you believe marble in a bag? Something you just wouldn't put together and yet the designs work so perfectly.
Elena explained her collection in a little more detail below:-
"The inspiration behind the collections is the materials. I wanted to use a material that relates with Greece, and transform it to fit in the contemporary luxury fashion industry.
The collection
is grounded on a visual interpretation of the materials and having them be the
guide of the final outcome. A balance between hard and soft dictated the
structure of the artefacts. The combination of marble, which carries
a variety of connotations with the quilting of leather to match its scale lead
me to a product that relies on volume, texture and material to serve an
original function. From the beginning my focus on the design of the artefacts was to
create a sense of parallelism; I wanted the users to have the experience of
holding an element of history through their physical contact with the marble
whilst using the receptacles themselves to hold their possessions.
Another starting point was the minimal aesthetic I wanted to achieve in order to let the materials and their surfaces be the focal point of the pieces."
Elena also openly admits that these bags aren't made to be mass reproduced, they are bespoke items due to the sensitivity of the marble material. Personally I think this is a fantastic selling point because they are unique and different to other bags you see. Each are made to order and the prices do vary, these bags don't come cheap but true quality and design never does.
I know my favourite is the clutch bag pictured first in the sequence called Pillar Scopes but Elena does have a larger range so check out her website Elena Kara
What do you think about Elena's collection?
What do you think about Elena's collection?
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