An interview with creative bag designer Loulou Bontemps
Bag designer Loulou Bontemps creates amazingly beautiful and inspiring pieces. Using leather, vintage fabrics and embellishments ensures each bag is unique, timeless and is something you can treasure forever.
Being a lover of fashion, vintage, style and art Loulou features a variety of talented designers as well as her own handmade clutch collection (which I must say I absolutely adore!) on her online boutique. Dainty, elegant with a dash of classic femininity!
Here at TopStylista we caught up with Loulou who tells us more about her collections and what the future holds for Loulou’s Boutique.
Jamie - Tell us about you and your bags.
Loulou - The Loulou Bontemps collection is simply a reflection of me, and my love of bags. My passion for art, fabrics & antiques is expressed through the materials & embellishments I use which I believe make my pieces that little bit more special & unique.
My debut collection is dedicated to the evening clutch, simply because I only ever wear clutches. You will never see me walking through the streets of London with a huge duffel bag. Even if it was Vivienne, Prada or Chanel I simply don’t wear them.
For me the clutch holds a sense of luxury, elegance & freedom. It displays that luxury of not how much you can carry, but how little. The almost impractical, small clutch liberates us by having to carry less.
Dior once said… there is nothing I would like better than to make every woman look and feel like a duchess. I believe a stunning evening clutch doesn’t need an occasion, it simply becomes one & that makes any woman feel fantastic.
My signature bow collection is chic, sexy & timeless. Sharing my love for leather, antique fabrics & jewellery, I have blended the contemporary & vintage look to create a timeless style. Your Loulou Bontemps can be worn over & over, without going out of fashion, complimenting any new or old outfit & every clutch is just unique to you.
Women regard accessories as essential. Accessories are very important in creating & completing your own personal style. With my collection each clutch is individual to its owner. Creating her own individual style statement.
Jamie - When did you realise you wanted to get into a career in bag designing?
Loulou - I made my first handbag in South Africa, around 8 years ago, which triggered a dream to design & make a collection of my own. However, it wasn’t until recently that I decided to make that dream a reality. I left my previous (successful) career to pursue what I really love; I kept thinking ‘why am I working my arse off at a job that I’m not particularly passion about, when I could be working my arse off doing something I am passion about’… so Loulou Bontemps was created.
Jamie - What made you decide that you wanted to set up your brand Loulou’s Boutique?
Loulou - I put all my ideas & aims together & the Boutique was born. LoulousBoutique.com is evolving in lots of exciting new areas that I never anticipated before. Originally I wanted to showcase my work to as many people as possible & the Internet seemed the best way to achieve that. I then began to take on other designers who also hand make their own collections & share similar passions to me. If you were to put myself & the other featured designers together with the same materials in front of us, we would all create something completely different. I love that.
LoulousBoutique.com not only features my own Loulou Bontemps collection, but is now a growing collaboration of unique independent designers, whom I support through networking & organising my own fashion & art events. Our last event was during London Fashion Week at Soho House, which went really well, I did invite Chantelle it was a shame she couldn’t make it.
Jamie - If your bags were a celebrity who would they be and why?
Loulou - Audrey Hepburn – for timeless class, style, fun, a little cheeky chic & elegance.
Jamie - Where do you get your inspiration and ideas from when designing a new collection?
Loulou - The materials I use are my main source of inspiration.
I take the day out with my close friend or mum and we go to antique shops & markets. There is something in the history behind antiques that bring my collections to life. I will spend ours in my leather wholesalers going through napas, pony skins, ostrich and so much more, all different colours & textures – that is my Utopia! my fuel for new ideas & themes. I recently discovered this never-ending fabric shop in Brick Lane; the ceiling seems eternal with all kinds of textiles disappearing higher & higher. It doesn’t matter how long you keep walking through you simply can’t see the end. I had too much fun in there!
I then come home to my studio & display all the antiques, leathers & new fabrics in front of me & simply put colours & textures together. I have boxes & boxes & boxes of vintage fabrics, 80’s prom dresses are my favourite with their radical patterns & vibrant colours. Slowly the collection evolves.
Jamie - Who are your top 3 favourite bag designers?
Loulou - Vivienne Westwood, Judith Leiber & the fabulous Lulu Guiness.
Jamie - Which country in the world do you think has the best style in bags?
Loulou - We do! Of course! I love the high street couture we have here in London. I love to people watch & do generally focus on their bags. The British are great at accepting the weird & wonderful, which is shown through our brave and bold fashion statements. Accessories are a huge part of the British fashion culture & the British female woman will not let you down when it comes to the finding the right bag to complete the outfit.
Jamie - What one element makes your bags stand out from other brands?
Loulou - Each Loulou Bontemps clutch is unique to its owner. You will never bump into someone wearing the same Loulou B clutch. This makes the bag itself desirable & luxurious rather than a simple brand name.
Jamie - If you could design a bag for one particular celebrity who would it be?
Loulou - Tough question…
Kirsten Stewart, she’s quirky & cool so that could be fun. No, Vanessa Paradis simply because I love her… no! Marilyn Monroe but she’s not around anymore. I like Kelly Osbourne’s wardrobe & Florence Welch is pretty fashion cool. Dita Von Teese?
Nope, I’m going to go with Singai Soniwa from the Noisettes, I love her style. She rocks!
Jamie - Tell us what the futures got in store for Loulou’s Boutique.
Loulou - At the moment I have the Loulou Bontemps signature bow collection. I am working on a new signature design but it is still in the making. I am also working on a few collaborations with other designers in London, South Africa & France which is very exciting but still hush hush. There is this fantastic graffiti artist Mister Batlow (Batlowsaspples.com) who I am currently working with bringing his graffiti art onto leather. You can see some of the pieces are already in the Boutique.
I am also hoping to create a regular Loulou B event in London, presenting exhibitions, catwalk shows & markets & bringing together independent British street designers & artists. I have the ICA in mind during September London Fashion Week, which is incredibly exciting. You must come!
Jamie - What essential piece of advice would you give to someone who wanted a career in bag designing?
Loulou - Focus on the quality of your materials & construction. Find your own style signature & rock it!
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Visit Loulou’s online boutique to browse through the fabulous collections! www.loulousboutique.com
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