Courtesy Hunting Season
This isn’t your grandfather’s hunting season.
It’s Hunting Season, the luxury handbag company, and it's the latest global fashion brand to make a stop in St. Louis as part of Laura Sawyier’s SALON x LKS series, which will host a panel discussion with the company’s COO on Friday, Sept. 20, followed by a pop up shop on the 21st.
Hunting Season partner and COO Lena Baranovsky will be in St. Louis Sept. 20-21 for a panel discussion and pop up shopping event.
A CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist in 2018, Hunting Season is known for designing heirloom-quality handbags by mostly female artisans in Colombia, combining natural materials and ancient weaving techniques, some dating back to the 17thcentury.
“The Hunting Season woman appreciates luxury but values discretion,” says Lena Baranovsky, Hunting Season COO. “She values the thought process that goes into the product, how it’s sourced, and who’s running the brand. The story behind the brand is the luxury.”
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Danielle Corona founded the company in 2006, after graduating from design school and working for Valentino in Italy. She began designing handbags for herself and for private clients after moving back to New York. Three years ago, she launched the company’s wholesale strategy, moved production to Bogotà—where she now lives with her family—and partnered with Baranovsky who runs business operations from New York. Corona’s designs feature Italian hardware and natural materials, such as lizard—a byproduct from Indonesia, napa leather, suede, and fibers from the Iraca de Palma, plátano and fique plants, all native to Colombia.
“It’s nice to bring brands here that don’t have a presence in our city,” says Sawyier. “SALON is in the nascent stage of building events. At the same time, I’m an entrepreneur, and I want to test the waters. Why not experiment with a handbag brand rather than ready to wear?”
Each handbag is made in the company’s factory in Bogotà, where 53 employees—from painters to cutters, sketchers and administrators—play a key role in the production process. “Owning your own factory allows for full transparency,” says Baranovsky. “Without a factory, you don’t know the conditions of the work environment, the wages, the kind of packaging that’s used. We’re able to offer honest prices and control the quality in one.”
Hunting Season is currently sold through 20 retailers, including Harrod’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus. "This has always been on the vision board. It's a dream come true," says Baranovsky.
Retail buyers don’t realize the power they have, she adds. “One order from Net-a-Porter can change so many people’s lives. We’re such a small brand, but the difference we make to women’s lives…for us it’s been amazing to see.”
