We just picked up this line and will have it in store at the end of the month--can't wait!!
“It’s a little bit cowboys and Indians,” says Maya Yogev of the inspiration behind her inaugural range of handbags that she’ll launch with her business partner, Keira Guez, for spring 2011. Everything from the sandy desert-color palette to the totem-pole reference in the brand’s title belies a Native American theme.
A wily desert traveler—her collection is based on everything from joshua trees to Coachella—Yogev couldn’t help but embrace a utilitarian tilt for her thirteen-strong debut: “I reshaped bags I’d collected from army surplus stores,” she says. “They’re functional, but you can dress them up with these beautiful charms.” Cue the antique brass, bone, and sea-urchin quills, crafted into tassel adornments by jewelry designer Sierra Reed, that attach to Yogev’s many-pocketed backpacks, collapsible bucket bags, and multi-zip messengers in lightweight fabrics such as lambskin and linen.
Also the creator of premium leather-jacket brand Grai, 29-year-old Yogev had no qualms about switching subjects. “The head of Otis College used to say, ‘If you’re trained in fashion design, you should also be able to design a car,’ so it just took a little research to feel comfortable with the transition,” she says with a shrug. And while she’s not about to turn her skills to transportation, she’s all set to dress up travelers in style.
“It’s a little bit cowboys and Indians,” says Maya Yogev of the inspiration behind her inaugural range of handbags that she’ll launch with her business partner, Keira Guez, for spring 2011. Everything from the sandy desert-color palette to the totem-pole reference in the brand’s title belies a Native American theme.
A wily desert traveler—her collection is based on everything from joshua trees to Coachella—Yogev couldn’t help but embrace a utilitarian tilt for her thirteen-strong debut: “I reshaped bags I’d collected from army surplus stores,” she says. “They’re functional, but you can dress them up with these beautiful charms.” Cue the antique brass, bone, and sea-urchin quills, crafted into tassel adornments by jewelry designer Sierra Reed, that attach to Yogev’s many-pocketed backpacks, collapsible bucket bags, and multi-zip messengers in lightweight fabrics such as lambskin and linen.
Also the creator of premium leather-jacket brand Grai, 29-year-old Yogev had no qualms about switching subjects. “The head of Otis College used to say, ‘If you’re trained in fashion design, you should also be able to design a car,’ so it just took a little research to feel comfortable with the transition,” she says with a shrug. And while she’s not about to turn her skills to transportation, she’s all set to dress up travelers in style.
