Our fashion week style secret
London Fashion week is one of the busiest, craziest, most exhilarating times of year for the Fashion team here at YCB. It’s a time for the fresh and the new but between managing our schedules and having a month’s worth of “what to wear” crises, it can be a touch stressful. And that moment when you’ve pulled together the most beautiful ensemble, down to the chicest of accessories, and you spot someone two rows along wearing the exact same thing; Disaster!
However, being the discerning shoppers that we are, we have a style secret up our sleeves this season to ensure that, above all, our handbag will be a cut above the rest. That secret is AEVHA London.
Designed by the fabulous Alice Horlick, the accessories label is the very definition of refined luxury. Centering on timeless designs with unique decorative details, the label launched last season with a conceptually black collection of six handbags in a range of sizes. A balance of edginess and elegance, we were instantly enamoured by the Bone Clutch, a rectangular clutch bag adorned with a hand carved camel bone handle, and the beautiful SS14 collection has firmly cemented our love for the label. “I always have a strong image of the AEVHA London woman in my head during my design process. She is a woman who likes to make a design statement in her everyday wear whilst appreciating the discrete luxury of an undiscovered brand,” says Alice.
Having initially embarked upon a BA in Womenswear, Alice decided to forgo completion of the course when she discovered her affinity for accessories; “Whilst I enjoyed experimentation with textiles and structure when designing clothes, I felt constrained by the requirement of having to design around the female form. With handbags there is much more creative freedom which suits my sculptural approach to design. I also loved the concept of the luxury handbag, an item that is so personal and functional, yet can pull an entire outfit together in one key design statement”.
Inspired by beautiful materials, Alice has travelled across Europe to discover the very finest in ethically sourced luxury leathers and exotic textiles including python skin and the aforementioned camel bone. She says of her love of leather, ‘I became devoted to it as a medium during my BA in Womenswear, and enjoyed developing surface embellishments such as quilting and bespoke embossing on the blank canvas of the conceptually black debut AW13/14 Collection. For this SS14 Collection I concentrated on colour blocking and the juxtaposition of contrasting textures.’ And her strong sculptural aesthetic doesn’t just stop at the beautifully constructed exterior; the internal structure is considered with equal care, using calfskin and pigskin linings to ensure the bag stands the rigours of everyday use, with the collections all produced by an artisanal workshop in Italy to ensure the finest craftsmanship.
Working with deep reds, blues, creams and nudes, the SS14 collection sees the feminine hues offset against distinctive metal ware and architectural shapes. We’ll be carrying the creamy beige Hanbeau shoulder bag as we travel from one show to the other, ideal for stowing away our flats (shhhh don’t tell anyone) and everything we need to take us through day to night. The Bone Clutch has been updated into a smaller hard clutch rendered in suede finished python skin, which will fit perfectly in our Hanbeau shoulder bag until party time. We’re also particularly in love with the soft grey AL Tensioned shoulder bag; just the right touch of childhood nostalgia and vintage glamour and a perfect partner to pair with the full skirts we’ll be rocking when dressed in our fashion week finery.
AEVHA London bags are available exclusively at www.AEVHALondon.com
