Hammitt's first full-scale artistic collaboration celebrates the bag as canvas and art as expression. In honor of two iconic styles' tenth anniversaries, we crafted this hybrid silhouette, a limited edition VIP Montana, with London and Rome based artist Bea Bonafini.
Inspired as a response to calls for compassion and human connection around the world, Bea's artwork toasts to the power of unity through embraced hands, intertwined faces, and laser-cut detailing, with tears flowing into fingernails and hair swirling into hearts. Each time this limited edition piece is worn, a new detail will come to life, illuminating love through intricate creativity. Its limited edition tan suede lining serves as a tribute to the iconic styles' original lining when they first launched ten years ago.
We sat down with Bea to learn a bit more about what inspired this piece.
"I was working on this design simultaneously to a project for Vogue Italia, for which an art curator selected 50 Italian artists to reinterpret the first ever imageless white cover of Vogue's April 2020 issue, marking the pandemic. I decided to link the two projects together, as Vogue is also in the domain of fashion. I carved the white page and inserted a black sheet to bring to life the image of two contrasting and mirroring faces holding each other and kissing passionately. To keep the quality of the hand carved paper, we used laser cutting for details on the leather bag. My work is so often about touch, connection and intimacy, and these are the very things this year has reminded us to value and prioritize in our lives. And after all, we touch our handbag all over, and hold it tightly to ourselves, like we would the faces and bodies of those we love."
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We couldn't let Bea go without investigating how she'd style this wearable masterpiece. Her answer? "I'd wear an entirely monochrome outfit with it, probably in a bold bright colour!"
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Shop the VIP Montana in Decennial Embrace
here.
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