The A-List Bags

Palm Beach vibes, royally appointed and every colour under the sun? That pretty much spells out forever pieces to us. Lana Marks’ exotic leather handbags are the answer to our desk to dinner rotation

Your collection has an exotic feel to it in the fabrics, materials and colours that you use; talk us through how you came about finding this as your creative voice?

I travel very extensively for business and pleasure to every corner of the globe. I’m motivated by architecture, nature and take inspiration from whatever takes my fancy as I see it. Dubai has all of that – from the tallest building in the world, to the extraordinary hotels and the desert all around, it's quite else.

Moving from the future back into the past, are there any particular parts of history that particularly influence you creatively?

My father was a developer and built buildings for our family. I was the first born child and from the age of three, he took me on site and introduced me to architects who explained proportions and geometry – it’s basically in my DNA and the brand’s too. With that, I am very hands on in the creative process – it’s the most fantastic part of the business. Going from the initial idea to the technical process to seeing the customer purchase the end result, is great. I am involved from A to Z. I also frequented ostrich and crocodile farms in South Africa, so I did know more about fine exotic leathers than the average person.

Tell us about, what seems to have been a firm friendship with Princess Diana. How did she cross into your creative space and inspire your work?