In the bag

Christopher Kon’s leather sacs score points south of the border

by RALUCA STATE

What do Laval and Los Angeles have in common? Apparently, a serious dose of fashion sense. Meet Christopher Kontogianis, a 26-year-old fashion designer who calls Laval home, but spends most of his time in the City of Angels and other hot spots south of the border. Kontogianis travels around, pedalling the wheels of his rapidly growing handbag collection called Christopher Kon. “I’m lucky right now because accessories have become, in a sense, more important than the clothes you wear,” he says. “Women will buy the bag and worry about the clothes later.”

Kontogianis, who looks like he just stepped off a South Beach runway, is no stranger to the high-fashion Chabanel district. His father has been running a handbag company his entire life and his little boy got eagerly involved at a young age, putting materials together and cutting shapes for fun. He never left, and the Christopher Kon label began to grow in 2000.

Two years later, the leather-happy Montrealer has successfully infiltrated several of this city’s shopping meccas. For now, he says he’s content with his living arrangement in Montreal and hopes that the local fashion scene will continue to grow and embrace new designers. “Women here are looking for their own identity and fashion helps them do that,” he notes. “They’re looking for a little novelty, something to set them apart from everyone else.”

But this city is clearly not the only one snatching up his creations. Kontogianis is branding his classic, urban image in some of this continent’s fashion capitals. “I am opening accounts on a weekly basis, touching most of the States,” the designer says with pride. “And the bags are selling right off the shelves. It feels good to see such a positive reaction.”

Motion of the ocean
Despite his growing popularity in cities such as NYC and L.A., Kontogianis says that more relaxing surroundings have inspired his laidback new collection. Ethnic looks have floated their way into his fall lineup.

“Sitting on a street corner watching people walk by is a big inspiration,” he muses, “but the ocean really clears your mind and helps you focus on what it is you need to do. Things seem to come to me easily when I’m by the water.”

This time around, the inspiration has led Kontogianis to use rich, soft leathers, mainly pebble-grain calf which, he says, feels like “melting butter,” to freshen up the classic bohemian style with chunky, clean accents and thick beige threading. “All the bags are lined with pig suede, so essentially you are getting an all-leather bag,” Kontogianis explains. “The beauty is not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. People don’t understand that, yes, a woman carries her bag, but she also lives inside of it.”

The Christopher Kon collection is available at Brown’s and Holt Renfrew

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