Jewels Leather, launched eight years ago by L.A.-based designer Julie Knapp as a collection of leather jackets, boasts a handbag collection featuring current – yet not necessarily trendy – leather bags. Consumers can find handbags by Jewels at more than 600 locations throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Knapp describes her style as “80s glam meets modish kitsch,” a style she said was cultivated and influenced against the Los Angeles backdrop of her upbringing. Los Angeles, often known for its color, no doubt influenced the handbag collection’s tendency toward bright, rich colors – “Jewel” tones, what else? Her mother, Judy Knapp, who made an impact on the fashion scene as an early pioneer in the junior apparel design field, played an instrumental role in nurturing Julie’s fashion talent.
Knapp’s 1997 launch of feminine leather jackets, which drew on such surprising elements as lace, leather flowers, whipstitch, and pleats, was well-embraced. Her creations appeared on then-primetime hit shows Friends and Will and Grace and graced the pages of fashion-lovers’ bible In Style. The Jewels Leather handbag collection emerged on the scene in 2002, incorporating Knapp’s design hallmarks of excellent craftsmanship, intricate detail, and unexpected embellishments. The handbags target Knapp’s staple customer: a young-minded, independent individual with a fashion-savvy eye for the most current trends.
The Fall 2005 handbag collection incorporates the current preference for easy, lived-in appeal (the so-called bohemian look), and wide, shorter shoulder straps, particularly with “Orly,” “Alice,” and “Tyler,” which are oversized purses. But make no mistake, Knapp does not abandon her penchant for color. For example, in addition to coming in neutral shades (a la boho) of browns and tans, “Alice” is available in such diverse hues as antique metallic, python, and sangria.
For consumers seeking a more classic design, Jewels Leather’s Fall 2005 collection offers staples such as “Maria,” a mid-size purse with skinny waist-hitting straps embellished with fringed tassels. Then there are the clutches – square, adorable “Coco,” which features a whimsical lace running vertically up one side, the elegant “Toni,” long, slender and understated, and daring “Elissa,” adorned with an embroidery-surrounded square of contrasting leather on the front panel.
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