Anya Hindmarch

Anya Hindmarch

Anya Hindmarch began her fashion career aged eighteen in Florence, Italy. After being inspired by a leather duffel bag worn by all the chic Italians, Anya Hindmarch has become renowned for her stylish yet practical designs that really capture what a woman wants in a bag. There are now over 50 Anya Hindmarch stores in 9 countries, including flagships in London, Tokyo and New York. Despite this global success, Anya Hindmarch still retains the appeal and uniqueness of a niche brand.

 Anya also designed gift bags for the Vanity Fair Oscars party and BAFTA’s, and was awarded an MBE in 2009 for services to the fashion industry. She is also non-executive director of the British Fashion Council, a UK Trade Ambassador, and trustee of the Royal Academy of Arts and The Design Museum.

From a third-generation miniaudiere maker to workshops in Florence, the craftsmen are the true heroes of the Anya Hindmarch story. Her team works closely with craftsmen to develop new techniques and finishes, blending the best materials and craftsmanship with a hefty dose of British humor.

In what may be the ultimate example of fashion high-low thinking, Anya Hindmarch, the British luxury handbag maker, is about to unveil a new incarnation of her signature “Walkers Crisps” bag — the evening purse in the shape of a crumpled bag of potato chips that became really famous when Solange Knowles used one to attack her brother-in-law, Jay Z, while in an elevator after the 2014 Met Gala. The bag will be offered in 18-karat yellow gold, as well as in white gold and rose gold. This is not a joke, although Ms. Hindmarch did acknowledge by telephone from London that part of the reason her team decided to make the new styles was they thought “it would be fun.

The 18-karat yellow gold bag, which takes about four months to make, costs 60,000 pounds, or about $95,200. The original styles come in Perspex, copper, the one Ms. Knowles carried. After the elevator attack, Ms. Hindmarch said, the bag became a perennial best seller. (Solange Knowles’s Attack Handbag Now Comes in 18-Karat Gold, 2015)