Eat My Handbag, Bitch!

Okay I hope you’re ready for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest! I thought I’d do a round up of my favourite European designers! I’ll put in handbag where I can, but some countries for this year’s Eurovision are hard to find bag designers for.

 

1. Finland – Mika Piirainen

I love this guy’s bags – they are so cute! I actually visited a Marimekko store in Copenhagen and everything there is so cute! I don’t think he has an offical website but Marimekko do, so you can find some of his stuff here. The runner up for the ‘Finland’ category isn’t a designer as such, but there are loads of really cute Moomin bags out there – my favourite Finnish creation

 

2. Bosnia and Herzegovina – Aida Korman

It was actually quite hard to find a Bosnian designer, but I found Aida Korman who designs some wonderful stuff! Not a handbag in sight, but some really quirky dresses.

 

3. Denmark – Ann Opstrup

There are great bags by Danish designer Ann Opstrup available in the UK. They are really cute. The tag line is ‘handbags to make you feel wonderful’!

 

4. Lithuania – Juozas Statkevicius

I feel bad because I have no idea how to pronounce his name, even though I have Lithuanian friends. On his offical website he has a lot more than bags. Some really awesome dresses too.

 

5. Hungary – Makány Márta

Is it sad that I like looking at wedding collections even though I’m not getting married? Hungarian designer Makány Márta has some really gorgeous wedding dresses.

 

6. Ireland – John Rocha

One of my favourite designers over at Debenhams I hadn’t realised John Rocha wasn’t actually Irish born. But he’s based over there, so I’m counting it. He does some great bags for men, if only my boyfriend was more interested.

 

7. Sweden – 10 Swedish Designers

I’ve got to admit that I love Swedish design. These guys, 10 Swedish Designers (10 Gruppen is what they call themselves in Sweden) design really bright stuff, and their bags are no exception.

 

8. Estonia – Kristina Viirpalu

I really love Estonia design – it’s somewhere between Swedish and Finnish design. Now Kristina Viipalu might not design handbags but she designs the coolest, brightest tights! There’s also a really awesome shop in Tallin called Nu Nordik, they don’t have a website, but they do have a flickr account.

 

9. Greece – Celia Kritharioti

When I think of Greek fashion, I can only think about Greek strippers. This mini-dress really sums up this silly stereotype! Celia Kritharioti actually does a lot of beautiful wedding dresses and other gowns. I just thought this silver thing might catch your eye more!

 

10. Russia – Kira Plastinina

Now I think Kira Plastinina is an excellent designer inspiration. From a young age she’s managed to do very well for herself, working with the likes of Lindsey Lohan. Her outfits are really current and would be great to stand out in a club. Cute little clutch too!

 

11. France – Louis Vuitton

You knew this was coming. As I said recently, I recently received my first Louis Vuitton from my boyfriend But yes, he is definately the best French designer, I don’t care what anyone says – jsut look at his collection!

 

12. Italy – Versace

Deciding on a favourite Italian designer was tough! In the end I went with Versace because it’s so classy and very occasionally I’ve found some of his stuff at TK Maxx. Even if I can’t afford it, it’s nice for a look!

 

13. Switzerland – Algo Sa

It’s actually surprisingly hard to find Swiss designers that don’t design watches or jewellery. Not that I mind. But Algo Sa have some really lovely and pretty, but really smart dresses, skirts and suits. Lots of mountains, but no handbags in sight.

 

14. United Kingdom – Liz Cox

I had a lot of choice with this one, but I went with Liz Cox as her stuff is so classy. I love the way you can pick the fabric – some of them are really unique too! For something really original though, I’d recommend Folksy.

 

15. Moldova – Georgeta Ieahia

It is actually incredibly hard to find anything for poor old Moldova. All I know is it’s a post Soviet state, but one of the ones that Russia seems quite keen to get back. They haven’t had a lot of time to establish themselves as designers, but I did come across this article about Moldovan designer Georgeta Ieahia taking her fashion to Milan. I’d really love to see a collection!

 

16. Germany – Karl Lagerfeld

I really love Karl Lagerfeld’s fashion. It’s so striking and all the models look so fearless! I’d love to see what he could do with a bag! Oh wait, Karl Who?

 

17. Romania – Belinda Liu

I have always thought that Belinda Liu designs some of the cutest stuff. I wish there were more bags like this hat! That fabric is so adorable.

 

18. Austria – Susanne Kitz

I’ve just discovered Susanne Kitz. Her website is all in German but all the bags are named after places. I think that’s pretty cool!

 

19. Azerbaijan – Fahriyya Khalafova

Azerbaijani designer Fakhriya Khalafova designs some really crazy catwalk outfits. I love this kind of design – where designers just go crazy!

 

20. Slovenia – Jelena Leskovar

Slovenia is rather hard to find designers for. But I did find Jelena Leskovar whose line is called Cliché. There’s some really odd but cool fashions on this website! I’d love to see a handbag!

 

21. Iceland – E-label

As far as I’m aware, Icelandic designer E-label provide some outfits for TopShop. There are some very nice ‘little black dresses’ on this website

 

22. Spain – Balenciaga

Whilst doing research for Italian handbags, I didn’t come across a TK Maxx favourite – Balenciaga. Turns out they’re Spanish, my bad. I really love these bags, they come in a range of colours!

 

23. Ukraine – Andre Tan

Ukrainian designer Andre Tan designs some really cute bags! But it’s nowhere near as impressive as this guy who designs dresses, even though he is now blind. Woah!

 

24. Serbia – Ana Sekelarac

Although she is British born, designer Ana Sekularac is of Serbian origin, so that counts, right? She might not design any bags but her dresses are quite nice, if a bit weird sometimes.

 

25. Georgia – Noma Studio

Even so they don’t appear to have a website I found an article on Georgia Fashion Week that featured Noma Studio. They design clothes that look like they would be really awesome for winter as well as really stylish.

 

 

To conclude: This was loads of fun and a lot harder than I thought! If you have an suggestions for any European designers that you think I should check out, let me know.