Fashion seems to be experiencing a dearth of new names. With the explosion of Alexander Wang, Joseph Altuzarra and other fresh-faced, wunderkind designers a few years back, editors and retailers wait with baited breath for the next big thing in women's ready-to-wear. And it hasn't really arrived. In the accessories sector, however, there has been quite a crop of talented young designers working out of the limelight, but nonetheless crafting fashionable - and more importantly high quality - products. Cue GelarehMizrahi.
She looks every bit the part of a budding designer for a line of downtown-cool handbags. Petite with big doe eyes and ombre locks that seem DIY enough to scream, "Oh yeah, I did this myself. I don't trust salons to get it right!," she rocks mysterious oversized hats and python backpacks with serious swagger in her step. The allure makes sense considering her handbag line is fashioned from exotic skins. It takes a certain kind of 20-something-year-old female designer to get down with reptilian skins. Though not a skater herself, Mizrahi dreamed up a black-and-white python wrapped skateboard that recently caught the eye of the New York Times Style section. Her collection worships the covetable high-low handbag. Think slouchy hobo-shaped bags and backpacks of exquisite snakeskin.
"I look up to artists rather than fashion brands," Mizrahi said. This is fitting for a young woman who attended the University of Maryland as an undergraduate, then pursued her dreams of fashion at Parson's New School for Design. She adds, "I admire and adore Pharrell Williams, KAWS, Takashi Murakami, Friends With You and anyone else who is fearless enough to have their creative voice represented in the world." In a sense, her handbags lack the usual signs of conspicuous consumption as they bear no logos. Instead, the rich, whimsical colors and beautiful skins speak for themselves. The goods are meticulously sourced in Italy, says Mizrahi, who is clearly invested in this aspect of her business. If the tagline on your website reads, "Give me python or give me death" - a riff on Patrick Henry's rabble-rousing speech - you better have the best of the best. Her prices toe the line between outrageously expensive by the standards of an average consumer, but also reflect a fair payoff, considering most luxury skin bags are around $3,000 to $4,000.
The fashion industry throws around the words "edgy" and "downtown" so often that they're almost meaningless at this point. But in the case of Gelareh Mizrahi, these terms are accurate. As a young woman who lives in the hip TriBeCa neighborhood, Mizrahi understands the desire that women have to combine luxury with a coolness factor. Take, for example, her aforementioned python-covered skateboard or her "paper bag" sacks reworked with emerald green snakeskin. A satchel style bag - a less traditional take on the boxy briefcase - is named the "Long Live Alex Trebek's Mustache" bag. There is something irreverent and chic about the design that screams, "carry me to the workplace, throw me around a bit on the subway." This tongue-in-cheek attitude has drawn attention from the likes of retailer Harvey Nicholas and The Manrepeller, who glued googly eyes onto the front of a yellow python cross body bag. Other images from the most recent lookbook include a natural python clutch topped off with an oversized Pepto-pink bow. Voila! The perfect combo of ladylike and the not-so-dainty - because what woman wants to have to choose?
