Columbian designer Santiago Gonzalez, the creative director of accessories’ brand Nancy Gonzalez, has partnered with Brooklyn-based artist KAWS on a limited-edition line of handbags. The capsule collection, which premiered at Colette in Paris earlier this month, is made of boldly colored crocodile leather, making for a look bursting in KAWS’ mordant provocative universe.
“When deciding who I wanted to launch the Nancy Gonzalez ‘Artist Series’ with, I immediately thought of KAWS,” said Gonzalez. “His precise use of color, his sense of humor, the graphic yet anecdotal imagery…his work is like a long lost friend… It comfortably belongs.”
Photo by D. McHugh
KAWS’ iconic “XX” motif is displayed across each bag in a contrasting color, creating a three dimensional effect. Each color combination was handpicked by KAWS from Gonzalez’ immense library of crocodile. Tomato red is paired with anthracite, deep navy with bright green, dove grey with cobalt blue and for the ultimate extravagance, albino crocodile is marked with two pure black Xs.
“Using crocodile bags as a canvas for KAWS’ famous XX’s showcases the brand’s mastery and irreverence in the manipulation of the exotics,” said Gonzalez. “It is impossible not to smile when you see these creations.”
Nancy Gonzalez
The collection made its debut at Colette during Haute Couture week on July 5, 2016 in Paris. It will be exclusive to Colette in continental Europe. Woldwide, it will be available at selected retailers such as Boon The Shop in Seoul, Aishti in Beirut, and Bergdorf Goodman in New York, among others. The partnership serves as the first in a series of artist collaborations for the brand, which will launch each year in a similar format.
