Founded by two friends, Carla and Emilia, the brand’s latest collection Anatomia is an ode to all things Dali, adding a pair of ears to the front of a cerulean handbag, or a quizzical eyeball, complete with its fun fluffy lid, on a leather lapel. “I have been always attracted by human anatomy,” says Carla, the designer of the namesake brand that her and her business partner Emilia founded in 2014. “I am fascinated by its shapes, textures and complexity. With this collection I wanted to represent the parts that connect us with the world, and at the same time make us recognizable to the eyes of others. I chose the parts I would keep in a little box if the human being ceased to exist!”

An aquiline nose, an eerie hand reaching out of a fur-covered clutch bag in a clever game of trompe-l’oeil… The result, captured by fellow Spanish photographer Lua Ribeira, is super fun, pleasantly tongue-in-cheek without being too gimmicky. Perhaps unsurprisingly given this surrealistic second collection – the first featured mini-figurines of animals – the duo quotes fashion genius Elsa Schiaparelli as their favourite artist. “She’s a good example of the kind of artist we like,” say Carla and Emilia. “Someone free and brave enough to project her creations and ideas without fear. We find very inspiring all the people who go one step further pushing boundaries and offering new proposals simply by the fact of creating something that does not resemble anything done before.” And where does one find these new design proposals? “In everyday objects,” Carla is quick to reply. “A texture, a combination of colors, an object … Usually I do not sit down to design.” A goldmine of different inspirations that lent itself particularly well to the world of handbag design: “Handbags have no imposed size and allow a higher dose of creative freedom,” according to Carla. “They are the perfect canvas to unleash the imagination!”