Lady LUX

“Living in Manhattan… You see phone booths. You see really beautiful metal,” Wendy Stevens says. “The walls on trains have this etched stripe pattern.”

To handbag designer Wendy Stevens, manhole covers, the Flatiron building and industrial shapes are something to ogle and admire.

Her handbags, which are fashioned from sheet metal, have become a symbol of her city, New York, and the constant inspiration it offers her.

Wendy Stevens didn’t even start making anything until she was 30 years old. She found a piece of sheet copper, played around with it and realized she created something kind of cool.

When Wendy Stevens’ production facility burned down in 2004, the designer didn’t let her career go down in flames. Instead, she used the opportunity to completely change the way she handled her business and her designs, revitalizing her work with a more hands-on approach.

“It kind of wiped out the way I was doing things and I could reevaluate,” Wendy Stevens said.

The accident changed the look of the bags, Wendy says. She now designs her own patterns by etching onto the surface, creating much more intricate details than ever before.

Although metal is an industrial, hard object to work with, much different than the fine leathers that most luxury designers use to create their work, many of her pieces have a feminine feel.

“That’s sort of the unconscious goal… to make it kind of soft, feminine and usable,” Wendy says. “A lot of people have preconceived notions about metal. I want to change the context of how metal is interpreted.”

Her classics remain modern and timeless, such as the Billfold, which is a simple boxy metal clutch, just big enough for your lipstick and a few credit cards. However, designs like Le Fan, which is reminiscent of a Spanish hand fan, is ladylike and soft. The distinguishing characteristic that separates her designs, besides the size, shape and straps, is the individualized etching. Each piece has a unique design, whether it is the Polar Purse’s art deco circle (pictured above), Luna Del Mar’s scale texture or Baltimore’s vertical stripes.

The Billfold, which Wendy says she carries on her almost everyday, was one of her first designs and inspired by her job.

“I worked in a nightclub and everyone had huge handbags,” she says. “I wanted to make something that was small and could just carry what they needed – credit cards, car keys, lipstick.”

Started in 1983, her collection has grown from a couple clutches to include satchels, totes, wallets and evening bags. However, in tune with her minimalist aesthetic, the line urges consumers to only carry the essentials in their modest-sized bags.

Although Wendy asserts that the line has seen an evolution, with added designs, shapes and patterns, she doesn’t forget the pieces that brought her where she is today. Her current collection includes classics, original pieces from the beginning, which she interprets from year to year but won’t fade out completely.

Lately Wendy has been attending tradeshows, in between handling the odds and ends at the business. She had one big thrill recently when Stephenie Meyer, the writer of the Twilight series, wore one of her bags to the premiere of “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.” She admits she hasn’t read the books but one of her family members was very excited.

“My daughter put it on Facebook and told everybody,” she says.

Wendy Stevens handbags are sold at specialty retailers around the U.S. and on her web site, www.wendystevens.com.

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FashionRadar / Features