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The Independent Handbag Designer Awards is a competition organized by American fashion magazine InStyle. It gathers a carefully chosen collection of handbags from lesser-known, yet incredibly chic, designers. One of the most prestigious handbag designers in Costa Rica, Jennifer Lang, is in the running with two entries.
The cute handbag you see in the picture accompanying this article is currently one of the favorites in the InStyle competition, which is being decided by an online voting process. The Luba Mini Tote has captured 38 percent of the votes in the Best Overall Bag category. The only other entry that has gathered more votes is in the category of Best Handmade Bag, which is currently at 41 percent for American designer Maureen Ladley.
There is one more handbag by Jennifer Lang in the competition. Her entry for Best Socially Responsible Handbag is the Boruca Clutch, which is made with cotton textiles produced by the Boruca indigenous people of Costa Rica. That colorful clutch bag has garnered 1 percent of the vote thus far.
Looking at the ultra-feminine Luba Mini Tote, it’s safe to assume that it will gather the most votes. Voting is taking place now at the InStyle website, so if you would like to offer your support you can do so by following this link. Voting will continue until June 8th. You can also visit Jennifer Lang’s label, J.Lang and check out all the cool designs she has created in terms of jewelry and accessories.
The handbag market has gotten very creative, competitive and lucrative. In 2007, trend tracker site Stylelist compiled a list of some of the world’s most expensive bags, including the Chanel Diamond Forever Classic, listed at $261K, and the Louis Vuitton Tribute Patchwork Bag at $42,000. By comparison, the J.Lang handbags are priced far more reasonably, and look just as glamorous.
Jennifer Lang is a Harvard Law School alumnus who decided to follow her dreams of designing jewelry and accessories; after all, she comes from a family of artists and jewelers. She is a sponsor of the Miss Costa Rica pageant and has served as a judge. Her designs are usually inspired by the colors and textures of our rainforests.
