Fashion
News
Jingle all the way
Made to not only be seen but heard, the Valorie Bells clutch is, in Anya Hindmarch’s own words, “the maddest bag”; one that “announces your entrance whilst at the same time putting a smile on your face.” As if whipped up in Santa’s workshop [just swap the North Pole with her South West London studio] this clutch understands that getting there is half the fun. With the label’s signature bow motif engraved on each bell, this is one of many Willie Wonka-esque offerings that is part of Hindmarch’s “All I’ve Ever Wanted” collection – a feast of tongue-in-chic treats that will make the heart of any magpie skip a beat.
Whilst Christmas was not the overt intended reference, the first lady of bags confesses that family holiday traditions are a great source of her inspiration: “My most cherished Christmas memory is seeing all my bigger kids making traps for Father Christmas with the little kids.” Her own knack for contraptions and precious tiny objects goes a long way back. From the favourite gift she received when she was seven years old, a Holly Hobby Sewing Box: “I was as happy as you can be!”, to her family’s annual gathering around their “Christmas Machine, a German music box that plays carols and doubles up as a mini Santa’s workshop that has presents on conveyor belts which go into a machine and come out all wrapped!”
The Christmas Machine actually also inspired Hindmarch’s AW12 fashion week show – an animatronic conveyer belt extravaganza that has been partially recreated for her Christmas window installation and pop-up store at Selfridges.
The Valorie Bell is £895 and available on anyahindmarch.com and net-a-porter.com.



