Cala & Jade  designers Nina Amble Sandaas and Tina C. Skaar partnered with Norweigian denim brand Mardou &Dean to create “The Denim Bag Journey,” a capsule collection  that marries the functionality of leather with the versatility of denim. On the next page enjoy a look at the bags , the lookbook and short filem  featuring creatives from Oslo. Luv!

Gucci, Gucci, Louis, Louis, Fendi, Fendi, Prada…..Autumn goodies are starting to hit retail and in the handbag category we’re spotting lots of fur. Prada offers up this “Cavallino” leopard print bag which you can preorder for an October ship.

The 5th Annual Independent Hangbag Designer Awards took place last Thursday, an event that was extra special for us since we were on the preliminary judging committment. There were a total of eight awards with the Best Handbag in Overall Style and Design going to Fabiola Pedrazzini. The banana bag above by Yanique Moore–inspired by Josephine Baker, natch–was entered in the Best Use of Swarovski Elements and while it didn’t win the big prize, it definitely won our hearts, though it was hard not to fall in love with all the designers there!

See more of the entries on the next page.

It was rumored that Angelina Jolie would be featured in Louis Vuitton’s next campaign and now we have the images, as snapped by Annie Leibovitz in Cambodia’s Siam Reep province. In the pic featured here, Jolie, we’re told, is makeup free (really?), wearing her own clothes and the featured “Alto” bag belongs to her as well.

On a low budget or what, LV?? Ha, we kid, we kid. Obviously a statement is being made here about what matters to Jolie as the name of the campaign is “Core Values.” Not sure how that connects with her using her own stuff, but Cambodia as many of you know is the birth place of her very first son, Maddox, who, as first children often do, set Jolie down a very changed life’s path and opened her eyes to and inspired her to become an activist on the issue of world poverty.

Louis Vuitton showed its Resort 2012 collection a couple days back and like we always do we zeroed in on the bags and ignored the backdrop clothing. The trend toward smaller bags clearly has yet to hit a wall with a couple styles so microscopic even Carine Roitfeld would like them!

See more on the next page. Via Wwd.

We had the chance to preview the Filson Autumn/Winter 2011 assortment last month and snapped images of their bags, which we think definitely hold their own with style and durability–a quality we believe seldom is sold to women. I don’t know about you, but spending hard earned cash on a bag that falls apart in a few months makes the Snobs really unhappy (sad face). This collection marks the labels first use of the color black for its accessories. And while the presentation apparel focused mainly on men’s styles, we can see ourseves totally stealing  the chunky knits (see at William Yan). Hop over to the flip for a closer look at the bags that caught our eye.

 To Celebrate the launch of their ‘Mon  Monogram’ service for small leather accessories, Louis Vuitton collaborates with artist Billie Achilleos via Chameleon Visual on a collection of animal  representations made of louis Vuitton Leather accessories.

 Each animal highlights an element in the design of the products. The Armadillo was to highlight the soft yet durable quality of the leather. The Chameleon displays the variety of colour. The Grasshopper is constructed from products with zips and poppers that make satisfying noises like that of the musically gifted insect. And finally my favorite, the Beaver, who’s functionality chops wood, builds dams…and provides cleaver ways of organising ones life in men’s bags and wallets. 

 The video above highlights the process while you can see pictures of the animals up close on the flip courtesy of Billie Achilleos. Love to see women in the arts getting their shine!

There have been too many time when I resist as much as I  can having to carry more than one bag. Especially if there is a bottle to bring to a dinner party or a need for an extra pair of shoes. Envoyage makes the kind of roomy bags this city dweller admires. Sleek in design, sturdy and functional. Designer Claudia Eicke has combined all the right elements of a good bag in her Envoyage collection. On the next page look at other hues of the ‘Taschen’ and the ’Weekender’ and get to know Claudia Eicke  via Stylecliker  here .

Used to be back in the ’90s backpacks were the hot item in New York City. You’d go to a coat check at a party (Giant Step, anyone?) and it’d be filled with (mostly) guys’ Northface backpacks. And then those Prada nylon mini-ones became huge and at at that time the counterfeiters were at the height of their powers and you could buy a very good copy all over New York City. In terms of popularity that Prada bag was akin to the LV Speedy today–so everywhere you couldn’t help but think, “Real or fake?” everytime you laid eyes on it.  

So anyway, now Shopbop is saying they’re back in style again. Fashion repeats itself, yes, but always with a twist so it’ll be interesting to see how this trend works itself out this time around…if it does at all.

Some upcoming offerings from Louis Vuitton in the way of evening bags for Pre-Autumn 2011. Via.

More on the next page. Enjoy!