Rian Handbags: Fashion, Art and Lifestyle

INTERVIEW

Senay Topcuoglu Gokcen

Editor-in-Chief

Photo © J. Natiuk

Rian and Julie Berry; a married couple who work together to design their fabulous bags since 2004. Their label "Rian Handbags" are all unique with their illustrations, high quality craftsmanship and styles.

The concept, based on Rian Berry 's background in art and design, was simple: create fashionable yet functional handbags with artistic elements incorporated into each design.

Every single detail of these bags are enough to take your attention; solid brass hardware, vibrant colors and the long lasting scent of the fine leather makes you really feel good. All of these combinations refer to their company's key elements: Fashion, Art and Lifestyle.

Artistic elements are focal point of their design process. Whether it's a life experience, illustration featured on the bag or a small printed detail in the interior, it's the fusion or at and fashion that make Rian Handbags.

This season Rian and his team featured urban illustrations printed on leather for their theme. They also have a more formal line featuring floral patterns on the way for late summer.

When I saw their unique collection, I thought that they needed something more than an Editorial. Therefore we made a wonderful interview with Rian and asked him what's on our mind.

Where did you get your start in bag design?
My interest in art and design started at a very young age. I started out studying painting and illustration with French artist Marjorie Kennedy. Later my focus started to change to design and fashion. I still paint and use a lot of those elements in my design work, I think art and design are synonymous.

What separates your bags from any other bag designers?
The thing that makes our bags unique is the use of artistic elements in all our designs. All of our bags have some kind of visual art in the design. It can be a full color illustration on the front of the bag or a small printed detail on the liner of the bag. Art on handbags in not a new concept. However, we feel that we are taking the concept to another level by using original artwork and fashion forward bag designs. These original elements make our bags stand out from the sea of other talented designers in the women's market.

Photo © Joshua Westfall

Do you design everything yourself or with your wife?
All the women's bags are designed by our design team with the majority of the creative work being done by Julie and myself. We have worked together since the start. We both bring a lot of good ideas and creative energy to the table. It has always been that way. Just look at the company logo, my name is printed and then she is the "walking girl".

The men's line, rian mens, is my solo project. I do the design and creative work for the entire line. It is launching this summer, we are excited about it.

What inspires you?
I draw a lot of inspiration from my travels. There are always things that I see while traveling that I want to re-create in our designs. Sometimes I try to incorporate the essence of something or re-create a feeling I've had, and sometimes it comes out as a literal translation. For example: On a recent trip to southern Italy we noticed some incredible floral designs on the table cloths, fabrics, and tapestries. When we returned I illustrated several floral patterns and we are printing them on our summer 07' line. When I saw the finished samples it reminded me of what we saw in Italy and I felt like we had captured that experience perfectly.

Are there any other designers who inspire you?
As far as designers in general go, I think Alexander Mcqueen is creating some really progressive, beautiful things these days. More specifically related to handbags, I think that Gucci is producing some really great bags. I think the materials on their current line are interesting, like the mirrored finishes, and glossy leathers.

What is your favorite part of your job?
Being able to draw a concept on paper and then see it come to life in the form of an actual product. It is a little surreal at times. Like when you see a random person carrying one of your bags.

Do you produce the bags yourself?
No, we only design them.

What is the most important aspect of the creative process?
For me it is the initial phases, the inspiration and the concept. Once you have that vision, everything else will fall into place.

Can you tell us about your favorite project?
There are several. But, I think the recent line we did that featured urban illustrations on the front of the bags was one of my favorites. We would come up with the concept or idea and then travel to the city or place we were using on the bag and just spend time there. We wanted that authentic perspective so that we could re-create that energy in the illustrations for the bags. We went everywhere, Paris, New York, Tokyo, San Francisco, Seattle, just taking pictures and experiencing life in those cities.

Do you follow current bag trends?
As a design team, we pay attention to trends and color directions for the upcoming seasons. But we use them as guidelines. I think it's important to know what is happening in the industry as far as trends go, but you have to find a way to put your ideas and designs first. Keep trends and directions in mind when you are designing, but don't let them decide what you create.

Tell us about the materials you use.
All of our bags are made of fine leather. Even the illustrations on the front of our bags are printed on the same leather. We also use refined cotton or nylon blend liners. We used solid brass hardware on our current line of bags. When we do our materials sourcing we are always looking for new, interesting materials to use on our bags. We are very particular about the quality of the materials we use.

What is a typical day like for you?
Of course it involves a lot of design work. I am really involved in the materials selection and production processes as well. We are always busy, looking at color cards, choosing fabrics, proofing leathers, inspecting samples... It makes for a full day.

What else do you like to do when you're not designing?
I make sure I can spend some time in the studio and paint. It is the basis for my creative energy, I discover things when I paint that give me ideas for other designs as well.

Thanks a lot to Rian Berry for answering our questions and now let's check out their Summer 2007 collection:

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