Vendula London has been making a name for itself in recent years thanks to its unique and quirky high-end handbag designs, and has fast become recognised as one of fashion’s edgiest brands. And to start 2022 off with a bang, it has recently launched its show-stopping new ‘Queen Collection’, taking the luxury goods world by storm.
Since its inception in 2003, Vendula has gone on to amass a legion of loyal fans across the UK, Europe and North America, winning support not just for its unusual designs, but also for its ethical approach to fashion. All of its bags are vegan, and the brand advocates ‘slow fashion’ over fast, encouraging its customers – known as ‘Vendulettes’ – to invest in quality pieces that will last them for many years to come, rather than the latest throw-away passing trend.
The Queen Collection – inspired by the iconic band of the same name – is the latest in a long line of exciting launches from the brand, and these unique, covetable pieces are already becoming the must-have handbags of the year.
“We quickly realised that we are all huge Queen fans here at Vendula Towers, and really, any excuse to play Bohemian Rhapsody was welcomed,” says Raymond Lam, managing director at Design at Vendula.
“Diving into and immersing ourselves in the archives and memorabilia of the band was very inspiring, and of course, we couldn’t help but design a bag for each band member!”
Designing for Brian May was easy, by all accounts. The Vendula London design team knew instantly that they had to pay homage to the Red Special – the iconic guitar he designed and built with his father that went on to become world famous. They wanted to recreate a little bit of rock history in handbag form, and so the Red Special bag was born.
Featuring Brian May’s embroidered signature on the front and hand-drawn wood grain print, it’s a real tribute piece, and Queen fans across the globe are clamouring to get their hands on this stylish and collectible piece as the ultimate 2022 fashion statement.
The Roger Taylor drum bag, too, is a piece you won’t want to miss out on the chance to own. Combining a range of elements designed to represent his role in the band and also the band as a whole, the Vendula team toyed with ways they could incorporate a drum kit and classic Queen elements.
The base drum was the perfect shape for a grab bag, with embroidered and studded details on the sides to represent the drum hardware, and the crossed drumsticks – the universal sign of a drummer. Featuring a super embellished shoulder strap, the studding detail was inspired by the stage lighting from their tour in 1977, while the back of the bag features Roger’s embroidered signature to make for a collector’s item to treasure for years to come.
But of course, the bag we’ve all been waiting to hear about is the homage to iconic frontman, Freddie Mercury. How could Vendula do him justice?
With his many iconic looks and defining moments in history, there is undoubtedly plenty of inspiration to draw from – but Mercury’s famous and instantly recognisable yellow jacket, worn on the ‘Magic’ European tour in 1986, was the obvious choice, and became the biggest styling influence when creating the bag.
With a striped shoulder strap to represent the singer’s trousers, which were worn alongside the jacket, the bag – which is the star of the entire collection – is beautifully finished off with Freddie’s signature, which has been embroidered on the back and is certain to delight Mercury fans the world over.
Not forgetting Queen bassist John Deacon, the Mini Bass Case is a nod to his talent and features brightly coloured patches and a miniature case construction to make for one of the team’s favourite bags from the collection. A mix of embroidery and vegan leather for an all-round rock and roll tour feel, this show-stopping bag is one you’ll be proud to display on your shelf at home, as well as on your arm while out and about.
“We carefully chose a vintage style vegan leather that gives the feeling the bag has seen the sights over the years,” says Raymond.
“The style also features the super embellished tour lights shoulder strap and the legendary signature of John Deacon.”
To round things off, Vendula’s fun tour bus truck bag features the brand’s cheeky black cat mascot driving on ‘The Crazy Tour’ and selling Queen merch – because let’s face it, everyone loves a novelty. Featuring a bold Union jack symbol and nostalgic black and white images of the band on the back, if you can’t choose one band member over another, then the tour bus bag is the perfect solution, and is a somewhat less ostentatious choice than the others.
Raymond concluded: “At Vendula London, our aim is to design fun bags for everyone – and designing our novelty shapes for the Queen range was great fun. However, we know that not everyone wants their handbags in novelty form, so we designed this final bag for those who want something beautiful yet a little more understated.”
The iconic Queen X Vendula bags are available for between £65 and £150 now. Vendula London offers free shipping on orders over £50.
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