Too few designers take handbags seriously. Like a good pair of shoes, a handbag can tie an entire outfit together—it is not merely a pouch of practical fabric to store your keys, wallet, phone and miscellaneous items. Serra Turker, the founder and creative director of Misela, knows the importance of the handbag, and treats each design like a piece of precious art.
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From design to art direction, PR to styling, Benoit Duvignacq's resume reads like a handbook on fashion career choices. Training at the prestigious ESMOD Paris school in pattern drafting and design, Benoit soon found himself at Sonia Rykiel as a communications assistant to her daughter Nathalie. After a period styling several of Rykiel's sub lines, Benoit also had a stint in the accessories design department, where he immediately felt at home.  read more »

We have all seen photos of cricket players or surfers with a white stripe of sun protection worn wet over the nose. Zinc, the ultimate form of sun protection, works to block the sun through reflecting it away from the skin, and is thought to be the most effective barrier from UV damage. Australian beauty line Invisible Zinc now also uses these beneficial elements of sun protection in a range of accessible skincare.
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GiBB is a brand new accessories brand with a brilliant future ahead. Created by fashion designer/artist Karlla Girotto and stylist Fawsia Borralho, the brand is grabbing the media's attention for its intelligent mix of materials and hipster twist, a combination that's timeless and appealingly eccentric.
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Jeffrey Parker and Tony Ta are no strangers to the design game—fourteen years in the business has seen them working with some of the biggest names in fashion, from Giorgio Armani to Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren and Derek Lam. But after years of traveling backwards and forth to Italy, it became clear that the business needed a new structure to cope with the sheer volume of work. The result was a move from New York to Florence in 2003 and the creation of Studio Maggio.  read more »

Ted Noten's Haunted By 36 Women show at Amsterdam's Galerie Rob Koudijs exhibits his characteristic avant-garde flair. Inspired by "archetypal perceptions of women"—the femme fatale, the girl next door, the fashionista, the suffragette—the collection includes assemblages and rapid-prototype pieces such as rings and brooches. With the role of the muse up for renewed discussion, we chatted with Noten about how he fell into jewelry design, his feminine inspirations and what he'd design for the First Lady.

JC Report: Your CV mentions that you were a bricklayer, a nurse and a traveler before you began art school—how did you make that transition?

Ted Noten: The step from traveler to jewelry maker was a beautiful coincidence. A German guy on the streets of Athens was selling self-made artisanal items made with simple tools and beads, shells, etc. I was paralyzed by watching his working hands—and the control he had.

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With the International Contemporary Furniture Fair setting furniture fashionista hearts aflutter in New York, we turn our attention to designer Liana Yaroslavsky. The Leningrad-born, Paris-based artist's exquisite coffee tables are like miniature museums: plexiglas cubes filled with unique and rare materials in ten different variations. The table types fall into two categories: one category plays with the idea of glass imitating water, while the other taps into Yaroslavsky's fascination with the lavish, excessive decorative elements of 18th century France.
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Elegant shoewear is a universal language, but few speak it as fluently as Brazilian women. From sky-high stilettos to avant-garde wedges, Brazil is truly the land of daring, discerning shoe design. Anglo-Brazilian designer Charlotte Dellal's eye-catching label, Charlotte Olympia, can easily stand on its own well-shod heels, but the London-based line reached new heights—literally!—when it was recently launched in Brazil.
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Spinning Jewelry and Scandinavian designer Lina Mørk's collaborative effort, Spinning Rings, is a refreshingly unusual collection that's twisting the jewelry world around. The rings are designed to easily fit together and work in various combinations, creating endless variations镄tempting the wearer to turn the chameleon collection into something personal.
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Los Angeles-based shoe artisan George Esquivel has made a name for himself by turning out handcrafted luxury wingtips, boots and brogues with a twist. Over the last 15 years, he's earned a clientele that includes businessmen, sports stars and entertainers alike (the members of No Doubt and actor Jake Gyllenhaal are all fans).  read more »