Lady in Red and Teal: An Artful Mash-up

As we transition into autumn there’s always a few things that are constantly on my mind: wonderful colour contrasts, the use of leather, and comfortable knitwear. It might be a tad early to don your chunky scarves, but it’s certainly never too early or late to take risks with combining colour and texture. 

In the past, I shared with you a few of my favourite independent accessories designers. In collaboration with Boticca, this time we're giving the spotlight to another progressive designer to have on your radar, Luciana Ellington.

The Los Angeles based designer has an eye for the bold and expresses it beautifully in her handbag brand Costella. She creates high quality leather bags with a focus on texture that's united with strong details. 

Much of the collection’s inspiration also comes from her Brazilian culture. Throughout the line you will see the joining of daring and edgy elements, such as unique handbag shapes, colourful contrasts, and eye-catching hardware.

These are bags with personality and only a selected quantity is made in each style! Of course, the exact style that I selected from her collection had to have both edginess and a striking colour palette. This "Mini Erin" bag is of triangular shape, but I found it to actually hold quite a lot. It’s made of cowhide turquoise and red python cowhide, and has a lively colour combination, (see detailed images below).

The Look:

Since, I love to wear bold and bright colours (not just in the summertime) I have been gravitating toward incorporating more red and pink tones. So, I decided to play with abstract patterns. I had to attend a conference with other creative types and wore a blazer with this outfit initially. Afterward, I ditched the blazer to go to an art show later that evening.  

I called this ensemble, “paint spatters and volcanic eruptions.” I know ... I was in a visual mode as I created this look. The grey stone colour in the blouse reminded me of melted rock with the pink interpreting lava from a volcano. 

I layered a dress underneath, which has a gradated floral print giving off a random effect much similar to paint splashes. In the end though, smart accessories matched with bold colour and texture spoke to me the most!

To view other styles from the line click here. What do you think of Ellington’s (Costella) handbag collection? 

 
The goods:  Costella "Mini Erin" leather handbag-c/o Boticca, Retro blouse-charity shop, Heels-Charles David, Dress-F21, Jewellery-Nordstrom, Maylee's Jewelry, Leather belt-Urban Outfitters. 

 
   (Above) Bright contrasts and inside details: a combination of orange, teal, red, and silver. 

Looking for something different? You can shop and support other emerging talent here. 


*Visit Boticca and save an extra 15% off, including sale items now! Use the code: LADYF15  at checkout!  This expires: September 30,2013. So there's plenty of time to select a favourite item!