Ad| Lara Kazis is a Munich based handbag brand founded by Larissa Hildmann in 2012. I discovered her beautiful bucket bag on Instagram and today I talk with her about her leather bag brand.
Larissa, how did you come to make handbags?
I had been making clothes for 10 years as a dressmaker and I also had an online shop selling fashion at first but then I wanted to try something new.
As I loved working with leather I started experimenting with this wonderful material.
First I designed belts and feminine harnesses that my customers loved, but as I was never sure if the piece of clothing would fit the customer. I found it very challenging to sell clothing online.
I wanted to make a product that did not require a clothing size. That is how I decided to make handbags.

Your handbag collection is defined by geometrical shapes and cut-outs. What is the philosophy behind your design?
I always loved geometrical shapes and architecture.
Origami, the art of pleating paper fascinated me, so I experimented with paper pleating and had the idea to use leather instead of paper. That is how my very first bag, the Pyramid cosmetic bag came to be.
After that, I decided to go a step further and wanted to find out if it was possible to make transformable bags through leather pleating.
This is how I created the „Fold it!“ collection. The collection consists of 3 different handbag styles which can all be transformed into a smaller version and a different bag shape. So you always have two bag styles in one: “Fold it!”
The collection consists of 3 different handbag styles which can all be transformed into a smaller version and a different bag shape, so you always have two bag styles in one.
When designing it is always my intention to stay minimalistic but with a touch of detail.

Which pieces does your handbag collection contain?
Pyramid Cosmetic bag and a slightly larger version which can be worn as a cross body bag.
Cut out
Cut out Bucket Bag
Fold
Bucket Bag
Shopper (not available at the moment)
Crossbody / clutch
Those bags can both be folded into smaller bags through pleating and can also be folded completely flat.

I especially like your bucket bag series „Fold It“. Please tell us more about it.
To be honest, this bag was a custom order by one of my customers. She wanted to have a bucket bag in the style of the fold it collection so I created the fold it bucket bag.
I loved it so much that I decided to include it in my collection. Since then it has become one of my best selling items.

Where are your bags available?
My bags are exclusively available in my online shop at the moment.
As I have a two-year-old son I cannot work full time yet. I hope that this will change in a years time when he goes to kindergarten, then I will look into selling my bags in small shops in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland again.
Find out more about Lara Kazis bucket bag and her other bags on Instagram and her website.
Get 15% off at your next order using the following code at checkout: LK-FALL till October 13th, 2019.
© Pictures by Lara Kazis
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