The Handbag Awards Flash Back
What is meant to discover so much talent
When my last licensing deal turned into a catastrophe, I panicked about what I was supposed to do. I had my own handbag brand for eight years, had several licensing deals that I orchestrated, and had finished writing my book, “Handbag Designer 101.” I was so tired, so burnt out, and just over everything, a handbag. I had a call with my literary agent and said, “So when is this book deal going to happen?” to which she replied with a laugh, “Oh - book deals do not happen overnight, and by the way - you can’t leave handbags if you ever want this book to sell.”
No sooner than I had this conversation, I discovered I was pregnant for the first time, which left me with the proverbial “Oh damn, now what!?” In January of 2007, I had this epiphany - I know so many designers and have been a professor for four years, so why not create an awards show for handbag designers? I am known for moving fast, so I called my contact at the WWDMAGIC tradeshow and immediately asked for a meeting. “If I created these so-called awards, would you be a sponsor?”
Without batting an eye, he responded, “Sounds interesting - sure, why not.” I then went through the Garment Center of NYC door-to-door, asking for money and participation for storefronts (M&J Trimming RIP), Rosenthal and Rosenthal factor, and the Garment Center Improvement District. The wildest thing is that they all said yes. I was both excited and dreading that I had now created yet another project that I had no guarantee would be successful or get anyone interested - let alone apply.
I then started reaching out to my contacts at every fashion university, college, and institute I could think of, telling them that I had an opportunity for their students to be discovered - and if it was free, would they promote it internally? The answer to my surprise was, “Sure! Of Course!” I was again slightly terrified of what I was getting myself into. This also is part of the narrative that led to the Handbag Awards always being free to apply, which was a blessing and a curse. We had over 2000 applicants annually. This is unheard of for a new design competition. This began a 15-year stretch of talent discovery, and being crowned “The Handbag Fairy Godmother.”
What do you think? I will do a Substack on a “where are they now” segment of The Handbag Awards because there are just so many people to cover.
