Handbags. They’re the bane of my life. They’re either too expensive, or too cheap. There are too many things on them, or the proportions are wrong. Shoes and handbags are infinitely more costly to produce than clothing, hence the total dearth of intelligent, beautiful accessory design that is locally produced.
Which is why I was overjoyed to find Benah at RAFW. The brainchild of designer Brenda Harvey, Benah is a succinct collection of leather bags and silk scarves that tick all the aforementioned boxes. It’s understated,impeccably made (all natural materials and solid construction) and well, beautiful. As are the films that function as ethereal lookbooks for the collection, directed by film wunderkind Ben Briand.
New Zealand born, Sydney located Harvey namechecks inspirations for the about-to-be-released launch collection Castor & Pollux as ‘sacred geometries, organic 1950s architecture, and the idea of keepsakes’.
The Benah Castor & Pollux collection is stocked at The Corner Shop in Sydney, Jean Brown in Queensland and online here.
Benah presents 'Castor & Pollux' - Dancing from Ben Briand on Vimeo.