Sunday’s 2013 Emmy Awards were weird, but don’t let that discourage you from diving deep into the attendees’ particularly fabulous handbags from the pre-show red carpet. Often, awards shows are a tough place for bags – traditionally, many stars choose to do photos without their bags in tow, which puts a damper on our fun almost as much as floor-length gowns bum out shoe-lovers. For some reason, though, not only was the Emmy red carpet full of clutches, but many of them were unexpected choices from young, independent luxury brands. There was not a Leiber or Vivier bag-bauble among them.
Two newcomer brands carried the day, handbag-wise – Edie Parker and Rauwolf, both based in New York. We’ve profiled both brands’ early collections in the past, and they’re front-runners in what has been a slow, steady shaking-up of evening bag conventions over the past few seasons. Edie Parker makes slick acrylic clutches in fun finishes like glitter and pearl as well as a plethora of interesting inlaid patterns. Rauwolf’s evening bags, on the other hand, take an aggressive, architectural approach to clutches in gleaming glasslike finishes. Both brands got their clutches into the hands of some of the night’s brightest stars, from Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Christina Hendricks, and it was a welcome respite from the somewhat tired (though beautiful) Boite de Nuit clutches we see every time awards season rolls around. Check out our roundup of the evening’s handbag highlights below.