Anya Hindmarch
Fashion with purpose
Few fashion-world figures can claim credit for nudging an entire country away from reliance on single-use plastic bags while simultaneously pioneering a new vision for homegrown British luxury. Yet Dame Anya Hindmarch has achieved that and more, all while designing and marketing the kind of quietly compelling leather handbags – as well as playful homeware, accessories and collaborations – that keep customers coming back for more. Here, fashion journalist Emily Cronin asks about her career and inspirations.
Words by Emily Cronin
Photography © Anya Hindmarch
An early calling
My earliest memory relating to fashion dates from my childhood in Essex. My mother gave me one of her old handbags when I was a child and I remember vividly how it made me feel. I think a career in accessories and leather goods was the plan from that moment on.
Then, during my studies, I spent a year in Florence. I was there to study Italian, but I kept noticing the handbags – particularly a bag in this great shape that a lot of people seemed to be wearing. That inspired me to design something of my own: a small duffle bag with a drawstring closure. Somehow I managed to persuade a factory in Florence to make a small run.
My brand itself came together very organically from there. I returned back to London from that trip to Florence and convinced the Offers department at Harpers & Queen magazine to run my bag as their monthly offer. I had 500 bags and everything sold very quickly. The business has grown slowly and carefully from there into what it is today.
Fashion with purpose
I have come to define my brand point of view as ‘fashion with purpose’. I believe you can’t call something luxury if it is doing harm. The turning point for me was a project called ‘I’m Not a Plastic Bag’. I had a lightbulb moment when I met with an organisation called We Are What We Do. They were a social change movement and asked if I could help amplify the message that it was important to [reduce reliance on] single use plastic bags. I realised I could make a difference by using fashion to promote that idea. That project helped lead to the Government changing the law to charge for plastic bags in the UK.
If these bags could talk
I’ve been lucky to see so many people I admire embrace my designs. It was always such a great honour to work with HRH Princess Diana – she would come to the studio by herself and we would have fun together. She was a huge advocate and a generous ambassador for the brand. The Royal family are always so supportive of British brands, which makes a huge difference.
I’m very proud of specific designs, including the Crisp Packet Clutch in gold metal. I know it isn’t leather, but it is the result of huge collaboration between such a skilled team of craftspeople. Each clutch is completely handmade using over 10 moulds. It is a wearable piece of art in my eyes.
A material for the generations
I have always been passionate about working with leather. It is an incredible natural material, and it has given me many opportunities to work with great craftspeople. I love finding new ways to work with leather, from printing to weaving to cutting – the possibilities are infinite when you’re working with a great team.
Leather is a sustainable, waterproof, flexible, durable, altogether amazing material. I think while we are still eating meat, leather is a natural byproduct and should be used. I am not yet convinced by the alternatives, many of which seem to use plastic in their production.
Leather, meanwhile, offers exceptional properties. If sourced, tanned and finished well, it can last a lifetime and beyond. It also ages beautifully. I love the idea that some of these pieces are made to last generations and will be passed down through families.
“Leather is a sustainable, waterproof, flexible, durable, altogether amazing material.”
Return to nature
The Return To Nature collection of fully biodegradable bags has been a real passion project, inspired by the idea of a zero-waste future and the circularity of nature. The collection is designed to biodegrade, compost and return to the earth, nourishing the soil at the end of its useful life.
The collection was at least two years in the making and is the result of a huge amount of research and innovation. The tanning and finishing method was developed with Hoffmans and Nera Tanning, resulting in a product that is chrome-, heavy metal- and aldehyde-free. The skins are sourced from Scan-Hide Swedish farms with the highest standards of animal welfare and are from regenerative farms. There are no PU coatings and each bag is finished with an Activated Silk technology, developed by Evolved By Nature, which allows the leather to biodegrade by 89.2% in 28 days, with complete disintegration in 45 days under composting conditions.
Making unmissable moments
We have a track record of creating these ‘miss them or they are gone’ experiences in The Anya Village on Pont Street in Knightsbridge. It’s wonderful to see so many families making a tradition of visiting the grotto at Christmas, shopping for cycling gear or stationery at our pop-up shops or queueing for unusual ice cream flavours in the summer. It means a lot to know that our work resonates. Retail means hospitality these days and I think people are craving something different that they can’t get from a digital screen.
Believe in daydreaming…and handbags
It’s hard to believe my brand is in its fourth decade. The industry has seen huge transformation since I started my career, shaped by shifts in technology, globalisation, and consumer behaviour. There is also much more demand for sustainable and ethical products, which is such a positive development.
What hasn’t changed is that I love what I do and the team that I work with. I am constantly inspired by people, museums, galleries and travel. I’m a big believer in daydreaming – it can be when some of my best ideas bubble up.
I’m always most inspired by whatever is coming up next – I love having my head in the new collections or the next project. We have lots in the pipeline, including the return of The Ice Cream Project for summer, new global editions of the Universal Bag, the launch of the AW collections, which includes a brand new shape to watch out for, and lots of new Anya Brands.
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