A London luxury bag and accessories brand founded in 1987 by Dame Anya Hindmarch, known for playful design, personalisation and its Chelsea 'Village'.
Anya Hindmarch is a British luxury brand that designs leather bags and accessories, including a travel range, purses, tech accessories and the Anya Classics bag styles Mortimer, Neeson and Ellis. It also offers personalised pieces such as embossed handwriting and monograms, organisation-focused designs called the Labelled collection, and home and lifestyle products. In November 2023 it released a knitwear collaboration with Uniqlo that sold out.
Anya Hindmarch founded the business in London in 1987. Its own site says creativity, modern craftsmanship and personalisation are central, and that it aims to reconnect craftspeople and customers. Anya describes personalised pieces as having your name on something rather than hers. Her 2007 "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" campaign helped lead to plastic bag charges in the UK. In 2020 the brand released "I Am A Plastic Bag", with each bag made from 32 half-litre recycled plastic bottles, followed by the Universal Bag in 2021 and Return to Nature bags designed to biodegrade. The sustainability motto is "progress, not perfection".
The brand is based in London. Its best-known UK site is The Village on Pont Street in Chelsea, which opened in 2021. It is a cluster of neighbouring shops and a cafe around the Village Hall, which hosts concepts, collaborations and exhibitions. The page we read did not list other UK shops or give a head office or studio address, so those should be checked on the company's website.
The culture, as the company describes it, is playful: it is known for experiential retail and a trademark sense of humour, and Anya is a keen supporter of British design and the arts. Dame Anya received a CBE in 2017 and a damehood in 2024 for services to fashion and business. She is a trustee of the Tate and The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, advised the Board of Trade from September 2023 to August 2024, and wrote the bestseller If In Doubt Wash Your Hair in 2021. In 2024 the brand won the Luxury Brand category at Marie Claire's Sustainability Awards. Craftspeople work in its shops, which gives customers a view of the making.
A brand with creative retail, products and a food offer needs a wide mix of people: bag designers and product developers, personalisation and craft specialists, shop and Village teams, event and experience producers, buyers, e-commerce and marketing staff, and people in sustainability, finance and operations. It suits someone who likes ideas as much as products. The company's website links to its current roles.
Website: www.anyahindmarch.com
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