Ally Capellino: When bags meet London architecture

In 2010 British fashion designer Alison Lloyd marked 30 years in the fashion industry. Her name may be unfamiliar to you, but her label Ally Capellino is one of the stars of independent British design. Ally Capellino’s accessories quickly garnered a cult following, with fans from around the world taking pilgrimages to her flagship store in London’s trendy borough of Shoreditch.

Alison Lloyd’s work is highly distinct. With her beautiful handbags for women she succeeds in unifying several contrasting design aesthetics. They are rustic, harsh and utilitarian, while their soft leather and muted colours convey a quiet elegance. The bags’ clasps are heavy—almost industrial—and so too are the dull-metal chains that form the handles. “I suppose you could call it butch feminism,” she told The Telegraph Online. Her knack for unifying the often polar opposite worlds of practicality and luxury fashion has directly contributed to one of her most notable collaborations. In 2008 she was appointed by the technology giant Apple to create a series of bags designed to carry their products—a range that she continues to produce.
 

In her AW14 collection, comprising leather, waxed cotton and canvas bags for men and women, Ally Capellino takes inspiration from the architecture that surrounds the second London based store in Portobello Road. Again drawing on industrial sources, the brand transforms these seemingly bleak notions of urban life into desirable luxury items.

Buildings and locations that are of particular significant to the range are: Trellick Tower, Craven Hill Gardens, 10 Palace Gate, Park Tower Knightsbridge Hotel, 65 Ladbroke Grove and Hallfield Housing Estate.

In her canvas rucksacks you can relate their functional design to the no-nonsense approach to practicality that the architect applied to Craven Hill. 
Maxwel Fry’s modernist, block coloured flats at 65 Ladbroke Grove are reflected by the boxy Mae Bag from the M’Lady range. 

The red bricks that form Hallfield Housing Estate are represented in the tanned leather of the Miles satchel. 
And the list of clever interplays between bag and building goes on.

I am a proud owner of three Ally Capellino purses – one can never have too many! Aside from being rather pleasing on the eye, what I also love about them is their durability. The metal framework is unyielding, the clasps are strong and the leather is of the quality that’s not marred by age. One might say that the brand’s work is architecturally sound.

Find the full Ally Capellino Autumn/Winter 2014 collection here.

Via PopSugar

Read more articles by Georgina Yates here