Sang A Spring 2011 Sculpted Fish Leather Bag
Sang A Spring 2011 Sculpted Fish Leather Bag | Photo: Fashion Lover

I popped in for Sang A Spring 2011 handbags presentation at the CFDA fashion incubator (Times Square is tolerable during morning hours!) last week. Sang A uses a lot of exotic skins (her water snake bag was featured in WWD alongside Bottega Veneta and Chanel last year), but what I like about her is that she doesn’t rely on the leather texture alone, rather she creates great contemporary bags that just happen to be made of exotic skins.

The Sang A girl I created in my mind is wearing the likes of Helmut Lang, Reed Krakoff, The Row and Alexander Wang which, although clothing brands, are similar in design aesthetic. Contemporary. Minimal. Muted color palettes. In fact, the Helmut Lang bags collection that was unveiled only a few weeks ago really reminds me of Sang A.

My favorites in the Sang A Spring 2011 collection are probably the pieces made of fish leather. Perch fish skin to be exact. The leather is so soft and pleasant to the touch, and the bag weighs almost nothing. The mint-blue natural fish tote, retailing for $1895, is absolutely to die for. In a weird way, it is even eco-friendly!

After doing a little Google research, I’m pretty sure Sang A is the first luxury high-fashion designer to use fish leather (if you don’t include Stella McCartney saying she tried using it a few years back but it was smelly and weird – I assure you – it is not). I hope we’ll begin seeing more of it.

Visit Sang A’s website for more information and retail locations.

Sang A Spring 2011 Quilted Wave Panel Alligator Tote
Sang A Spring 2011 Quilted Wave Panel Alligator Tote | Photo: Fashion Lover

Sang A Spring 2011 Python Skin Clutches And Duffel Bag
Sang A Spring 2011 Python Skin Clutches And Duffel Bag | Photo: Fashion Lover

Sang A Spring 2011 Spiral Shape Clutch And Bracelet
Sang A Spring 2011 Spiral Shape Clutch And Leather Bracelet | Photo: Fashion Lover

Sang A Spring 2011 Embroidered White Leather bag
Sang A Spring 2011 Embroidered White Leather bag | Photo: Fashion Lover

Sang A Spring 2011 Sculpted Triple Wave Clutch
Sang A Spring 2011 Sculpted Triple Wave Clutch | Photo: Fashion Lover

Sang A Spring 2011 Sculpted Brushed Python Leather Bag
Sang A Spring 2011 Sculpted Brushed Python Leather Bag | Photo: Fashion Lover

Sang A Spring 2011 Sculpted Fish Leather Bag Close Up
Sang A Spring 2011 Sculpted Fish Leather Bag Close Up | Photo: Fashion Lover

Sang A Spring 2011 Business Card Case
Sang A Spring 2011 Business Card Case | Photo: Fashion Lover