Young, up-and-coming designers were recently given the opportunity to compete for the design of a new bag for one of the most iconic brands around – Levi’s. Leanne Lewis’s creation, featuring more than a little bit of Valletta, was announced winner. Anna Marie Galea finds out more.
If there’s one company that is always at the helm of creation and innovation, it’s Levi’s. Indeed, the company’s 1873 inception was based on necessity, as well as creativity and it is with this mindset as a backdrop, that Levi’s Malta recently ran a contest for Malta-based designers to customise a Levi’s carryall denim bag.
Out of the numerous submissions, 12 designers were selected to go head to head, with the participating designers being Rose Marie Abela, Louise Aquilina, Celeste, Churpina, Jacobo Durango, Gabrielle Fenech, Leanne Lewis, Sara Pace, Marco Parascandalo, Sam Selby, Bernice Vassallo and Ritienne Zammit.
The exhibition, which showcased all 12 pieces, took place at the Levi’s Store in Valletta, where people were invited to vote for their favourite piece.
All voting was public and people could vote via Facebook or, in-store at the exhibition on the actual night, with each voting system carrying 50 per cent of the total voting weight.
Leanne Lewis was voted winner of the night thanks to her unique design which consisted of a collage of hand-embroidered illustrations, finished off with floral patterns and beading. I met up with the young designer to find out more about what inspired her distinctive piece.
“Levi’s is one of my favourite brands. I’ve always loved the comfortable clothes, authentic designs and fresh style.
Using Valletta as her main source of inspiration, her bag reflects her love for culture and nature
During the first years of my time at Mcast, I used to study textiles, while constantly following fashion trends and style. When I saw the open call for the competition on Facebook, I felt the urge to apply and create something by hand, using textile knowledge I had accumulated over the years.”
Using Valletta as her main source of inspiration, her bag reflects her love for culture and nature.
“Being that this year, our capital city is the European Capital of Culture, I wanted to illustrate what makes our culture unique. I also wanted to finish the bag with floral patterns and beads to give it a colourful, vibrant and trendy feel.
“I started by listing down the simplest things one would associate with our country. I wanted to illustrate the main characteristics that one would relate with Malta, namely our food, hobbies, lifestyle, traditions, architecture, religion and even climate with some of the highlights being the dead hanging rabbit, the CISK beer bottle, the old Maltese door, and Maltese bread. I love exploring our island and I wanted the bag to reflect that.”
While some of the other contestants radically changed the overall look of their bag, Leanne wished to stick with the raw material she already had.
“I wanted to keep the look and feel of the bag. I thought of using golden-beige thread for the hand embroidery, to match the colour of the stitching so as to make the illustrations look as if they are part of the bag.
“Besides that, I added floral patterns in between the hand embroidery which also gave the design an organic feel while balancing the colour. We had 15 days to complete the design, so I used the first week for brainstorming, researching, getting inspiration, preparing illustrations, looking for the right material and putting the illustrations together digitally. I then dedicated the second week to hand-sewing the illustrations and sticking floral fabric pieces, patches, dry leaves and beads together.”
After all the days preparation, Leanne felt nothing short of elated when her name was called, even though she says that she wasn’t expecting it.
“Winning the competition definitely felt good and I was more than a little surprised. Competing with another 11 designers, many of whom are already established, felt challenging and gratifying at the same time. The response received showed that many people loved the design as much as I loved creating it. The support I received was also pretty overwhelming.”
Still fresh on from her victory, Leanne has no plans to slow down and rest on her laurels.
“I am currently at the very early stages of an upcoming collaboration that I’m hoping will evolve into a long-term fashion project, and I also have some more art projects that I hope to start working on soon. I’m feeling really positive about the future, so stay tuned!”
www.behance.net/leanne-lewis