Product Spotlight: Farbod Barsum Handbags & Accessories

Genevieve

My love for well crafted, designer handbags is one of my guilty pleasures. I came across Farbod Barsum and couldn't stop drooling at the pictures of the gorgeous bags. What struck me was the unique designs that set it apart from other luxury bag brands flooding the market.

Isabella

Farbod Barsum is a relatively new entrant into the scene of exotic handbags. It has been setting new standards in the world of luxury purses since its launch in 2010. Designer Farbod Barsum started the line after completing Art History at Berkeley, Fashion Design at FIDM, and a Masters Degree in Architecture. According to the designer, the design for the bags combine his love for nature and architecture. This is very visible in the strong lines and geometric shapes of the bags. The material is luxe and beautifully textured. Each bag is crafted with skill and precision and it shows.

Polina

Empress

Farbod Barsum makes luxury, ethically sourced genuine snakeskin bags and ostrich skin handbags. The designer selects each material that goes into making these beauties personally. Experienced artisans handcraft each piece and make sure it matches the high standards of quality for the brand. Each piece of hardware is individually cast and polished setting each bag apart from the other.

Farbod Barsum has experimented with innovations in the exotic handbag company that few others have dared to. These Isabella and Polina bags use color blocking to aesthetically combine two elements in one bag. Farbod Barsum is a pioneer when it comes to using Swarovski crystals and feathers in exotics.

Jennifer Morrison

Even with all the innovations, the bags are extremely versatile. You could use them from day to night and carry them from the office to a nightclub. The bags look classy and elegant in whichever setting you place them in. It is no wonder that celebrities like Pink, Maria Sharapova, Nicole Scherzinger, Carmen Elektra, Jennifer Morrison and many others have been seen carrying his bags both on the red carpet and off.

Img Src: Farbod Barsum

P.S. This is a collaborative post. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Redefining Kitsch

Ever since I opened my store in Kolkata, I have been asked a countless times what Kitsch means. Ofcourse most people think its 'kids' the first time.Then comes the plethora of unique pronunciations like Kits, Kitsech and if they're cool,its keesh like the french delicacy.The correct pronunciation being 'Kich'.
Audio Link to the Pronunciation
Even more misrepresented is the definitions of Kitsch found online.If you look up KITSCH on Wikipedia,it is defined as 'an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value.'
Which it was,In the 19th Century.As a descriptive term, kitsch originated in the art markets of Munich in the 1860s and the 1870s, describing cheap, popular, and marketable pictures and sketches.The concept was applied to art that was over-sentimental and melodramatic.

                                             American Kitsch in the 1950's

However,In more recent times,Kitsch art embraces and celebrates melodrama.If it's loud,colorful,folksy and completely over the top.Its Kitsch.It's so bad,it's cool.It's like how girls are always attracted to the bad boys.You know they're not good or smart,But they're so wrong that they're right.

Betsey Johnson -Queen on International Kitsch Fashion

In India,Kitsch is generally denoted through cultural references:Truck art,Nimboo Mirchi,Bollywood,Taxi art et al.It started as a desi-chic art form which was so cool because it was new and unique after a generation of modernism and art that 'meant something'.It was cool and fun and rebellious.

Truck Art Key Holder by Happily Unmarried

More recently though,It's been popularised to an extent that it's losing the POP factor.Instead of succumbing to cliches,there is a need to reinvent the same old motifs.Because,the charm of Kitsch is that it is Out of The Box even though it uses everyday icons.
Below are some pictures of my favorite Kitsch designers.Hope you found the article informative!

Nida Mahmood 

Masaba Cow Print Blazer

                                  And Ofcourse the Indian Dancer Saree by India Kitsch.:)