It takes Amsterdam-based designer Elza Wandler three days to select the correct leather colour for one of her eponymous creations. Operating using an incredible attention to detail, Wandler doesn’t pick from a prescribed selection of hue options, she works with a manufacturer in the Venice region of Italy, which allows her to transform any tone from a huge Pantone colour book into a piece of coloured calfskin.
‘I’m very precise in everything I do,’ Wandler, who only launched her hit bag label in April 2017, explains. The tones and sculptural shapes of her creations – be it the debut half moon Hortensia, the triple panel shoulder bag Luna, or the sculptural side-flap detail Yara, inspired by the cute physiognomy of a puppy – have been an incredible success, and are currently the fasting selling bags in Net-a-porter’s contemporary category.
In today’s competitive accessories market, where a bag can become a cult hit on Instagram for six months, before being replaced with another attention seeking accessory, Wandler’s long-lasting It-bag subverting status has already been cemented. ‘The bags also appeal to women without social media,’ Wandler says. ‘The shapes are feminine and elegant, they’re not screaming for attention.’
Wandler works according to her intuition, and for spring, her instinct has extended into the launch of her debut footwear line, a range of Nineties-centric heels in zingy shades, with the same ‘strong lines’ that embody her bag designs. There are square-toed sandals in candyfloss pink and tropical lime green, two-tone mules in panels of cherry and cream leather and sky blue ankle boots with sculptural magenta heels. ‘They’re feminine, elevated pieces,’ she adds.
With her label’s shoes sure to be as hotly selling as her bags, Wandler’s next steps are wonderfully unwritten. ‘My brand is really about balancing business with my gut feeling,’ she says. ‘Who knows what that will be telling me in six months!’
Left, Isa sandal. Right, Lina boot, by Wandler
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Wandler website
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