Independent Handbag Designer Awards

Last week I attended The Ninth Annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards™ at the School of Visual Arts Theatre in New York City. Forty finalists were selected from over 1500 submissions sent from five continents and twenty-eight countries

The night kicked off by a cocktail hour followed by a presentation with a welcoming speech by Emily Blumenthal the founder of IHDA. The Independent Handbag Awards (IHDA) provides emerging designers access to create what they love and get rewarded for their creations. Based on votes the IDHA finalists will receive a feature in the September issue of InStyle magazine along with a sales opportunity with EVINE live, a partnership with Guess  Mary Kay®Cosmetics and more.

THE EVINE LIVE BEST HANDBAG IN OVERALL STYLE AND DESIGN
MANDY CHANG - MANDY CHANG USA

THE TRINA TURK BEST STUDENT MADE HANDBAG
DANIELLE GUMINA - GRIP HANDBAGS USA

THE BERNINA BEST HANDMADE HANDBAG
BORIS MATVEEV - KABO LEATHER USA

THE FASHION 4 DEVELOPMENT MOST SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE HANDBAG
ANA MARIA PLATA - LEONOR COLUMBIA

DISTINCTLY DENIM BY GUESS HANDBAGS
MARY LAI - MARYLAI NEW YORK USA

THE KLEAN KANTEEN BEST GREEN HANDBAG
SUGANDH AGRAWAL - GUNAS USA

THE STAND OUT AND LOOK GREAT WORK BAG BY MOO

&

INSTYLE.COM AUDIENCE FAN FAVORITE

JEN HAMLEY - JENNIFER HAMLEY, ENGLAND

THE MARYKAY® MOST IRRESISTIBLE MAKEUP BAG
EMILIA ARZUA & CARLA LOPEZ - CARLA LOPEZ SPAIN

This year the IHDA honored one of my favorite handbag designers, Rebecca Minkoff with the 2015 IHDA ICONOCLAST Award.

THE 2015 IHDA ICONOCLAST RECIPIENT: REBECCA MINKOFF

With a vision of building a lifestyle brand for the downtown romantic, San Diego-born designer Rebecca Minkoff founded her company in 2001 after she developed a small apparel line. She spent the next few years working on the small collection until 2005 when Rebecca developed the “Morning After Bag”. The bag became an overnight sensation and Rebecca began solely concentrating on developing additional styles to build out her romantically themed day-to-night handbag collection. After four years of consistent growth in accessories under her belt, Rebecca returned to her original love of apparel design and introduced a ready-to-wear collection in 2009. RebeccaMinkoff’s designs are a favorite for modern, trend-setting everyday women and celebrities alike. This is the reason why Rebecca Minkoff is the ICONOCLAST Recipient for the Ninth Annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards.