The Medea Sisters' New Italian It Bag Is Inspired by a German Icon
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Loading... - Agnes Lehnert
- 01 Mar 2021
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When Camilla and Giulia Venturini, the Italian twin sisters behind Medea, first saw a photo of their tiny tote on Rihanna’s Instagram page, a drooping red rose held within, their reaction was nothing short of shock. “It gave us a little bit of a heart attack,” Giulia says. Yet Bad Gal RiRi’s badge of approval is just one of many milestones. In the eight months since its launch, the Milan-based It bag label, which is named after Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1969 film, has been picked up by Dover Street Market, Selfridges, and Opening Ceremony, and launched a limited-edition collection with the artist Nan Goldin. (Not to mention the list of celebrities and street style stars seen carrying the minimal bags, of which there are too many to name here.)
PHOTO: BUNNY KINNEY
Now, the Venturinis have unveiled their latest creation: the Hanna, made to fill the size gap between their XXS and XXL totes. "It feels more like a proper day bag," Camilla says of its wider proportions, which perfectly house her essentials: “a wallet, phone, keys, and a camera.” Though made in Verona, the style was inspired by the iconic German actress and Rainer Werner Fassbinder muse Hanna Schygulla and her “strong but feminine” style. It comes in crocodile-printed calfskin and in Medea’s signature candy-bright colors, such as fiery orange, emerald, and Pepto-Bismol pink.
PHOTO: BUNNY KINNEY
But the designers’ cinematic impulses don’t stop there. To shoot their Surrealist campaign, the Venturinis transformed themselves into a pair of witches. (Medea herself is considered to be the great witch of Greek mythology.) Dressed in vintage Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, and Givenchy, the sisters took to the streets of London’s Hyde Park neighborhood with prismatic eyeshadow and pointy prosthetic noses, whipped up by wunderkind makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench. “There’s this vibe of ‘What’s going on?’ The only part that stands out is the nose,” Giulia notes, to which Camilla adds, with a discernible note of mischief in her voice, “We like to surprise people.” An Italian It bag, inspired by a German screen siren and immortalized in London, ticks that box and then some.
PHOTO: BUNNY KINNEY
