Croatian designers’ sustainable handbag wins at Independent Handbag Design Awards

Ivana and Marija Curic with the winning handbag and award (Photo supplied)

Handbag Designer 101 Announces Winners for The Fourteenth Annual “Handbag Awards” 

NEW YORK, NY, June 20th, 2020 – Handbag Designer 101 revealed today the Winners for the Fourteenth Annual Independent Handbag Designer AwardsTM that was held digitally for the first time ever live-streamed on all social media platforms, and exclusively on TheHandbagAwards.com. 

Forty finalists were selected from 1000 submissions sent from 5 continents and 28 countries. The award was hosted by Founder Emily Blumenthal, thousands tuned in worldwide to celebrate the new and innovative in independent handbag design. From a pool of over 1,000 submissions collected globally, winners were named in the nine distinct categories. 

The Bella Magazine Audience Fan Favorite award went to Curic & Curic, Marija Curic, CROATIA. People voted from all over the world and gave Curic&Curic a win to be featured in the 2020 Bella Magazine Fall Fashion Issue. For the first time ever The Fan Favorite bag is an Eco- Friendly (Sustainable) denim handbag. 

Ivana and Marija Curic with the winning bag (Photo supplied)

“I so much appreciate that people liked and voted for the bag that once was pair of old jeans, ready to be thrown away. To me as a designer, it means a lot to be mindful of waste and nature. That is why I decided to challenge myself during quarantine to create something special, with my own hands, from denim scraps without using sewing machine or electricity because I worked during the day,” said Marija Curic. 

“We are so lucky that we were selected first as a finalist and then a winner! We represented our ECO handbag under the Croatian flag, but also we were honored to represent New Jersey State and Hoboken that has been our second hometown for 12 years. The support we received from our all over the world is overwhelming and I have to say that our countrymen and Jersey people pulled through for us voting every day.“We are so grateful to Emily Blumenthal a brainchild behind this amazing award. Without her persistence and hard work maybe this year’s competition would never happen,” said Ivana Curic.

(Photo supplied)

For more information regarding the categories, prizes, winner images for the Independent Handbag Designer Awards, as well as to watch a replay of the 14th IHDA, check out www.thehandbagawards.com. Information about Curic&Curic, Eco-friendly denim brand at www.curic.online. Instagram: @curicandcuric