The designer’s very first collection for spring 2011. So good, right? When Lia Cinquegrano was devising the aesthetic for what would eventually become her bag line Thomas IV, she had some basic ideas in mind. She knew that color would be involved, and that the shapes wouldn’t (couldn’t!) be over-complicated. But between those basic concepts and the pieces she unveiled this spring—made of vibrant fabrics set against rich leathers on unfussy-but-polished forms—there was a lot of dabbling. The New York designer gives us a look at the creations that came before the line. “I made this in college at RISD. I was just playing around with appliqués and with mixing materials.” “Then I made a few bags for my friend Scarlett’s sister about three or four years ago. I sent her a bunch of sketches, and she picked a few that she liked. For this one, I cut up used leather jackets and mixed them with canvas. This is before I understood the importance of proper interfacings. It’s a different story to have bags made by a factory—they’re just more finished.” “When I got a studio space in Williamsburg a year and a half ago, I really started working on my own stuff and developing ideas. I liked working with something that existed—starting with the printed leather that particular jacket was made out of and playing with existing seams to do patchwork. But it was really hard to find the right metallic printed skins. I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for. So I left that by the wayside and started thinking more about the inherently more colorful Guatemalan fabric that I ended up using for my first collection.” For the first look at Lia’s edition—which involves some of that Guatemalan fabric—get on our email list.

One of the hands-down toughest parts of working for yourself: You don’t always have people around to bounce ideas off of. Well, unless you’re Lia Cinquegrano, that is—when the New-Yorker-by-way-of-Florida started developing her bag line Thomas IV, which launched last spring, she rounded up all those nearest, dearest, and most opinionated to give feedback. She calls this aesthetic inner circle her “Council of High Design” (jokingly!), and these are the six members. Tommy Cinquegrano – “My brother is a computer animator who specializes in lighting for videogames. He also does these beautiful prints of what he calls collaged architecture. He’s really the harshest critic because he knows I can take it. He covers everything— color, design, silhouette, anything. He’s sent me really long emails with bullet points.” Bridget Cinquegrano – “My brother’s wife Bridget has very good taste—very clean and smart. She wears a lighter palette, a lot of grays and neutrals. She does visual merchandising, so she shops around.” Maia Wojcik – “Maia’s my roommate—I met her five years ago. She searches for designers, art directors, and creative directors for positions in the fashion industry—on a global level. She’s very fashion-y— sharp and modern with lots of black. She has my camel-and-black bucket bag from my first season.” Julia Sherman – “I met Julia in high school—we did the RISD pre-college program together and lived together in college. She’s a very smart artist and has always had an interesting sense of style. She’s really honest—I like the friends that I know I can trust to be honest because they care.” Cat Warner – “She and I met about four years ago at Nanette Lepore—and I met my boyfriend through Cat! She’s very, very colorful and has a quirky sense to the way she designs knitwear and the way she puts herself together. She has bright red hair, and she always has fun accessories and a good color story going on.” Ryan Sovereign – “My boyfriend [Ed: who has a rad tie line, Sovereign Beck] has totally different taste—he likes kind of kooky prints. And he’s definitely not so harsh.” We’re releasing the bag that Lia designed for us on Wednesday at 10a EST! Get on our mailing list so you don’t miss out.

When Lia Cinquegrano started her handbag line, Thomas IV, she realized almost immediately that dealing with tough leather requires extra help. So, with the assistance of fellow purse-maker, Michelle Vale, she quickly discovered (slash fell in love with) Andina Factory. “I hit it off with the owners here really well,” she recalls. Bonus: The factory is in the heart of the Garment District—a mere few blocks from the designer’s day-job at Nanette Lepore—making it easier to have ultra-productive lunch breaks. Here, Lia gives us a grand tour (and reveals some of the Of a Kind bags in the process). —jiayi ying To see Lia’s fantastic fabric-and-suede creations out of their polybags, click here. There are only 15 around, and this is where they all live. “This is Jimmy, the owner. He’s a very warm, familiar type of person. I get really upset if something’s not right, and he can calm me down. He also makes all the bag patterns.” “I usually make a mock-up bag, and from it, Jimmy will make a more accurate pattern. This is where they keep all of the dyes, which are like these giant cookie cutters in the shape of the pattern. To cut, Luis, one of the workers, will pile up the leather and use a big machine to punch through it.” “These are waiting to be sewn together. I order raw materials from India, and work with a tannery in China.” “There’s a zipper pocket on the inside, so here they’re gluing everything down. They do a lot of prep before assembling.” “Here’s where all the assembling happens. I work with another factory that does only handles—it takes a lot of time just to make those. If I were making bags in China, everything would be taken care of in one place. But the development process here is much easier, and I can check in every step of the way.”