I found it interesting that the Post cited Devi Kroell bags, since I rarely see that line discussed on tPF. They first came out in 2004 and are best known for big slouchy snakeskin hobos.
This is a short piece that ran recently in Vogue...
Vogue
November 2006
DEVI KROELL
BYLINE: JANE HERMAN, Fashion Writer
In the spring of 2004, Devi Kroell debuted her collection of disco-metallic snakeskin satchels, and fashion lovers followed as if they'd been charmed. These simple sacks stitched of opulent skins were made even more hysterically cool with their then-innovative finishes of platinum, gold, and rusty copper: a giant shimmery-pink python hobo? It was unheard of, and an instant It.
Three years, five namesake collections, and a store in East Hampton later, Kroell, who won Swarovski's Perry Ellis Award for emerging talent in accessories design at the CFDA awards last June, is still making this signature bag by the hundreds. It's that good. But she's taken its concept-a simple silhouette that's totally outrageous otherwise-further. In Kroell's latest lines, the most basic shapes are thrown over the top. Wooden clutches are inlaid with oversize multicolored Swarovski crystals. Strappy sandals are made of Nile perch, a fish (with especially soft, suedelike skin) native to the river it's named after. Egg-shaped minaudiEres are done in karung, a water-snake skin that is tight in texture and irregularly spotted. And silver-fox vests for fall, inspired by Dynasty and the excess glamour of the eighties, come in punk-rock colors like acid-green and shock-orange. All of Kroell's materials-Astrakhan, ostrich, anaconda, and bull's belly-are treated (i.e., tie-dyed, tanned, or sprayed with color) until they're almost unrecognizable. "I don't want them to look as they do in their natural state," Kroell says. "I always want to push it."
Here are some pics from devikroell.com.
