Retro Looks for a New Line
Vintage-look handbags and shoes
The 1950s cultural icon Bettie Page, classic cars and dirty martinis are only a few things on the minds of Revamp Productions’ designers.
Costa Mesa, Calif.–based entrepreneurs Jennifer Perkins and Mia Manyer parlayed their passions for glamour and mid-century kitsch into a nine-piece handbag and shoe collection that features revamped classic styles and vintage-inspired craftsmanship. The pieces, similar to what you would find on the shelves of thrift stores, offer modern interpretations of old looks.
Revamp Production’s handbags, which wholesale from $50 to $250, come in seven styles: Tote, Motor Tote, Retro Frame, Car Clutch, Ziggy Stardust, Bamboo Moon and Matineacute;e Clutch. Embellishments include dice and punk-rock spikes for purse feet, silk tassels and velvet flower appliqueacute;s.
The Sands purse ($250 wholesale) features vintage Las Vegas dice for feet and memorabilia such as a charm bracelet, Sands Hotel matchbooks, playing cards and cocktail stir sticks. Singapore Sling ($125 wholesale) is a halfmoon- shaped clutch with a bamboo handle and a red flower print. The Fury ($145 wholesale) is a red vinyl clutch with hardware featuring silver chevrons and a “Fury” logo.
The collection is well-designed and elegant––but with an edge. The designers used vintage fabrics, such as bark cloth, velvet and silk for the collection. They also paid close attention to even the smallest details, including padded lining, removable zipper pouches, car-shaped cosmetic mirrors, hand-dyed bamboo handles and hand-sanded, polished wood bases.
The designers employed artisans at Eldorado Club International— a Los Angeles company that makes charms, belt buckles and other trinkets—to do their custom-designed, silver-plated embellishments, such as glassdome charms with keyhole logos. Each purse also includes a silver bracelet with a small charm that matches the style of the bag. The idea is to keep adding charms to the bracelet, Perkins said.
The designers also offer two shoe styles that match the purse lines. Shoes come in pointy-toed mules ($60 wholesale) and pointy-toed flats ($70 wholesale).
While Revamp Productions does most of its design work in Orange County, the company does the bulk of its production in downtown Los Angeles.
Last February at MAGIC International in Las Vegas, Perkins and Manyer met with representatives of Elvis Presley’s estate to discuss a line of custom handbags and accessories. The line, which has seven handbag designs, will debut at Elvis’ Graceland estate for Fall 2003.
Revamp Productions also designed a handbag in honor of the late comedian Gilda Radner. The bag comes in pink satin with a stuffed “Sparkle” mascot pooch on a crystal rhinestone chain.
“We love people who are outrageous and follow their instincts and their heart,” Perkins said.
A portion of the handbag’s sales will go to the Gilda Radner Foundation, a nonprofit group that assists cancer patients.
Revamp Productions’ pieces sell at specialty retailers such as Salon Lucy in Costa Mesa, Calif.
Perkins and Manyer will debut their Spring 2004 collection at The Edge during MAGIC International. The new collection features purses with matching pointy-toed shoes in kitten-heel, mule and flat styles.
To see the line during Los Angeles Market Week, visit the Circle 5 Showroom at suite B536 in the California Market Center, or call the showroom at (213) 622-6922.
