:: Junior Drake

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

The classy but edgy style of Junior Drake handbags attracts women of all ages who are confident in their own style, strive to make a statement, and exude a distinctive personality. The Junior Drake design team has developed a reputation for conceiving fresh design concepts that offer couture style and quality that is still affordable.

A Junior Drake bag can be distinguished not only by the soft Italian leather, quality craftsmanship, detailed hardware and hand-crafted flourishes, but by its unique source of inspiration – the real person whose image is shown on the distinctive silk fabric used to line each handbag and bag dust cover, the inimitable Junior Drake herself.

The US handbag label is now hitting Australia with a powerful message to Australian women: it is inner beauty that really matters. The luxury label, inspired by legendary actress Patsy Brown - whose stage name was Junior Drake – began its success story in LA and has an impressive celebrity following.

Junior Drake Australia's Rochelle Rostirolla said, "In a bid to pass Patsy’s electrifying essence to other women, the Brown family sought to immortalise her and her innate sense of style in each Junior Drake bag. Patsy once received a compliment for an outfit she was wearing and responded by saying ‘’Darling, it’s not the dress, it’s the girl!’’

It is in this spirit that each luxury design is created, and as a result the brand has a significant celebrity following including Mischa Barton, Beyonce Knowles, Tyra Banks, Katherine Heigl, Mena Suvari, and Carmen Electra.

Since being launched to retailers, the label has attracted significant interest from both exclusive boutiques and large retailers and has been stocked in stores along the east coast of Australia. Ms Rostirolla said the Junior Drake design team had a reputation for conceiving fresh design concepts which offered couture style but affordable quality.

She said the Winter 2009 collection would see creations of old tree leather and buttery soft lamb’s leather in colours ranging from black, violet, berry, whisky, coffee, indigo, brick and cream. The bags are named after real women known to the designers, who epitomise the same style and self-assurance Patsy Brown possessed. The Junior Drake woman has an unshakable sense of self, strives to make a statement and exudes a distinctive personality.

Ms Rostirolla is confident the brand will be embraced by Australian women and become the next ‘’it bag’’ each season. “It is rare that a high-end fashion label is created to inspire women to be confident within themselves and to embrace inner beauty; so we are pleased to bring this quality to the Australian fashion landscape,’’ she said.

Junior Drake has teamed up with The Butterfly Foundation as part of the launch of their first Spring range. It will donate 50% of the profits from the sale of its Spring “butterfly’’ bag to The Butterfly Foundation. The Butterfly Foundation exists to support Australians who suffer from eating disorders and negative body image and to educate young people on how to build positive self esteem through its “Body Think’’ program.

Ms Rostirolla added, “Junior Drake was created to inspire women to be confident and we are very passionate about communicating that message and believe this will be done best through our partnership with The Butterfly Foundation. Now Australian women can buy something nice for themselves and in the process help other’s feel better about themselves.”

This Spring, the first Butterfly bag will go on sale. Named the Butterfly Joslyn, the uniquely shaped shoulder bag is made from buttery soft Italian Leather and is created with gathered leather and embellished with handmade knotted drawstrings. Butterfly Joslyn is available in a range of colours including grass green, maize, black and ecru.

The Butterfly Joslyn is lined in Junior Drake’s signature printed silk which features images of Patsy Brown.

For stockist information, call 07 3252 7882.