Grape Leather Bags on Menu at Strathberry L.A. Launch
Strathberry, the Scottish accessories brand beloved by the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh, touched down in Los Angeles on Tuesday night to celebrate a new alt-leather capsule collection fit for Hollywood royals.
The line of grape leather bags was designed with stylist Tara Swennen, who works with Kristen Stewart, Ali Wong and Shailene Woodley, among others.
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Allison Janney, stylist Karla Welch, Micah Schifman, Kevin Erickson, Eva Sanchez and more came out to the San Vicente Bungalows to toast the bags made of skins that are a byproduct of the wine industry.
For Swennen’s part, she is authentic in her love of animals; her pot-bellied pigs are the stars of her household, and she’s vegan.
“Everyone always wants to know about my pigs,” the stylist laughed.
As guests mingled in the upstairs bungalow, they snapped photos of the seven styles that retail from $495 to $775. Made of 80 percent renewable and recycled materials, the bags give back to the environment in more ways than one. During the first week of launch, 10 percent of profits from the sales will support One Tree Planted, a charity working for global reforestation. For every $1 donated, the organization can plant one tree.
“It’s a great brand to work with,” said Swennen. “And she’s been so supportive,” Strathberry cofounder Leeanne Hundleby added, noting that the collab has been in the works since pre-COVID-19.
“A lot of them are their iconic shapes, but we changed the fabrication and they let me add the crochet as an ode to L.A. boho chic, and a little bit of the hippie in me,” Swennen explained of the designs.
“There’s a growing market for non-leather products. For us, leather is where we started and where our passion is, but we want to have an alternative offering,” said Hundleby. “We’re looking at repurposing, having alternative options and experimenting. You still get a beautiful style and silhouette.”
For now, the brand — which generates 60 percent of its sales in the U.S. and growing — is testing the alt-leather market with the capsule, but hopes to continue innovating with a second collection.
Will the grape styles show up on the arm of a princess, too?
“The royals are turning into great supporters,” Hundleby said, noting when they carry a Strathberry bag, it resonates around the world. “In Asia, particularly Japan, they love a royal story.”
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