Ever since Salvador Dali designed a hat in the shape of a shoe for Elsa Schiaparelli in 1937, artists and fashion houses have looked for opportunities to collaborate.
Louis Vuitton made Japanese artist Takashi Murakami a household name in 2002 with the infamous Murakami bag. Damien Hirst created a $55,000 handbag for Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen's brand The Row a few years ago. And this season, French leather goods manufacturer Longchamp has commissioned British-American artist Sarah Morris to reinterpret their iconic Le Pliage line.
Total Lunar Eclipse 2014 [Rio], Sarah Morris
Morris reproduced an extract from her painting "Total Annual Solar Eclipse" in creating the colorful 7-piece collection of tote bags, travel bags and handbags. The $3,290 limited edition handbag is truly beautiful, with its multicolor design bordered in stark black leather.
Sarah Morris' Le Pliage Tote Bags
Katie Hintz Zambrano, co founder of MotherMag.com, and Rebecca Miller, founder of Martini Bird, recently hosted a party at Longchamp's San Francisco boutique in celebration of the house's 20th anniversary, and to raise awareness for a charity close to Miller's heart, "A Home Within."
"My mother was a child protective social worker and we were a foster family when I was growing up," said Miller, who explained that the San Francisco based organization, which was also founded in 1994, is a national network of mental health professionals who volunteer their services in providing emotional support to foster children.