There are a few things I will just never get enough of. Among these things? Nail polish, bread, Boy Meets World episodes and, last but not least — purses. Well, really, just bags in general. Oh, a canvas bag to hold things in at the beach? Ok. A clutch that I have zero occasion for? Definitely. Anything black and leather? I say yes. So when I saw that there is an international Independent Handbag Competition, and the winners have been announced for 2014, I was very excited.
The eighth annual competition, held in New York City, debuted handbags from designers from all over the world, and named a few totally worthy winners along the way — but really, the bags are gorgeous. The competition started with 1,500 applicants, which eventually funneled down to only 30 finalists.
The judges included designers from Kate Spade, Kenneth Cole and Guess, to name just a few. Not bad, eh? There are five overall categories for the competition, and therefore five fabulous winners. Each of which will be featured in the September issue of InStyle. Oh, and have some of their creations sold at exclusive Bloomingdale's. Not bad at all.
Here are some of the gorgeous bags. Prepare to want them all.
The Optitex Best Student Made Handbag
By: Morgan Richards of Morgan Rhea, The Savannah College of Art and Design, USA
The Bernina Best Handmade Handbag
By: Gili Rozin Tamam of MeDusa, Israel
The Timberland Best Green Handbag
By: Carolina Riffi Ollite-Hopman of Carat23, The Netherlands
Distinctly Denim by Guess Handbags
By: Tika Kuchukhidze of Tika, Spain
Best Handbag in Overall Style and Design
By: John Edwards of Florian London, UK
Want. Them. All.
Images: Independent Handbag Design Awards/Fashionista.com
