Hunting for the next ‘it’ bag? Want to peruse a brand’s best sellers instead of its entire line? Emily Blumenthal, founder of The Handbag Awards, author and host of Handbag Designer 101 Podcast, and author of “Savvy Suzanna’s Amazing Adventures in Handbags,” has a new platform to help answer those questions.
Blumenthal is unveiling The It Bag, a new platform launching at NY NOW’s Aug. 3 to 5 show to spotlight handbag innovation and design talent. The It Bag x NY NOW will feature a “bestseller” showcase of independent and emerging handbag designers, positioned in a highly trafficked area adjacent to the Luxury Lifestyle destination on the show floor.
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Following the success of Blumenthal’s Audience Fan Favorite trade show installations, her multi-brand It Bag platform will offer retail buyers a different type of shopping experience. The It Bag will feel more like “walking the handbag floor at Saks than walking through a traditional [single-brand] trade show booth,” Blumenthal told WWD, all while giving independent designers visibility for discovery and brand growth.
This concept came after the last in-person Handbag Awards, which had partnered with NY NOW to host the Audience Fan Favorite category featuring handbags from 40-plus international designers. At The It Bag, designers only show their “best bags,” cutting the costs of a full booth, as well as the extra production of making samples that might never sell. “Buyers are going to buy between three to five styles,” said Blumenthal. “So why use the space for anything more than that?”
The six highlighted brands are as follows:
Elemood founded in 2018 by Kazumi Takahashi and Sujin Osatarayakul
A brand merging Japanese aesthetics with Thai craftsmanship to create timeless, functional handbags made from high-quality synthetic leather, priced $190 to $275, best known for its elegant Blossom Series.
Misenver, founded in 2017 by Shinyoung Park
Playful yet versatile handbags crafted from sustainable, upcycled and recycled materials, priced $60 to $300, with quick-turnaround designs merging mischievous style and everyday function.
Sentient, founded in 2022 by Jimena Suarez Ibarrola
A Mexican brand crafting luxury handbags from plant-based materials like cactus leather (Desserto) and olive leather (Oleatex), priced $50 to $250, with its hero Raíz Carryall blending modern design and sustainability.
ỌDỌBA founded in 2023 by Ọdọba Nnani
ỌDỌBA is a heritage-driven brand whose name—meaning “queen” in the dialect of Oguta, Imo State, Nigeria—reflects its cultural roots. Based between Nigeria and Columbus, Ohio, the brand crafts small-batch handbags in Romania from by-product cow, calf and goat leather, priced between $120 and $640. With a playful lion cub logo that honors Igbo culture, each piece is designed with intention, incorporating details such as mirrors made from offcuts to minimize waste. A portion of proceeds supports cultural preservation, education and entrepreneurship initiatives in southeastern Nigeria, blending beauty, purpose and heritage.
Bell’Invito founded in 2005 by Dallas-based designer Heather Wiese
Bell’Invito is a woman-owned luxury accessory brand that crafts Italian-made leather pieces priced from $115 to $2,750.
Handbag Designer 101 + Baikal
This debut capsule collection is an exclusive collaboration between Emily Blumenthal of Handbag Designer 101 and Nicole Levy of New York City’s Baikal Handbag Factory (known for making the original bags of the likes of Rebecca Minkoff), uniting decades of industry expertise, trend insight and artisanal craftsmanship. The collection will feature a vintage-inspired silhouette blending modern style with timeless appeal.
“Nicole and I were half joking, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if two handbag powers came together to create a handbag?’” said Blumenthal. “We found aesthetic inspiration from a Sears catalog from the 1950s, and before we knew it, we had a bag, now affectionately referred to as our ‘It Bag.'”