In the Instagram age, new and exciting indie brands are popping up every day, and as someone who covers handbags for a living, I can tell you that this is no exaggeration. Whether it’s a handbag brand I discover myself or a PR pitch I’ve received in my DMS, I often field newness from every which way. I’ve made it a point this year to continue to reduce my screen time and scroll less to read more books and journal more, but I still find myself falling down an aesthetic rabbit hole from time to time.
A few months ago, I pinned a post to my saved folder on Instagram of a simple yet sleek minimalist design with clean lines. It caught my eye because it fit the minimalist aesthetic that so many of us love, reminding me almost of a baby sister of The Row; it photographed nicely and looked like it was of nice quality. As it happens, I forgot about it until putting together one of our street-style round-ups from NYFW. It was then that the Caroline bag shot to the top of my wishlist, and after a proper deep dive into Freja New York, you’ll want to snag it too.
Modern Minimalism
Designed in collaboration with New York-based creator Caroline Lin, The Caroline Bag is a ’90s-inspired shape that’s sleek in design, featuring rolled straps and a fine topstitched detail. The perfect minimalist silhouette, there’s no hardware on the Caroline bag, and the Freja New York label is elegantly embossed on the front of the bag. Handcrafted from soft pebbled vegan leather, the Caroline comes in three neutral hues, oat, black, and pecan, and can be worn with the flap tucked in or out. Inside, it’s lined in an ultra-fiber fabric lining, with one interior pocket plus a key clip. The roomy interior is designed to hold your iPhone and more—it can even hold a small umbrella! Overall dimensions are 11.6″ x 5.8″ x 2.8″.
About the Brand
Designer Jenny Lei conceptualized Freja during her second to last semester of college as the mounting pressure of finding a job loomed. Lei was looking for a sleek tote to take on an interview and one that could hold another outfit for an event afterward. It was then that the idea of crafting an understated tote that also paid attention to the details was born.
In the age of creating bigger/better/faster, Lei decided to build something high quality, slow, meaningful, and personal. In July 2019, the first samples were born. From there, Freja has expanded its offerings, albeit slowly, launching a few thoughtfully-designed products each year with modern functionality at the forefront of its design process. Sustainability is also an important factor for Freja; with everything being created in small batches, the brand adheres to a strict no-waste business model.
Discover more now via frejanyc.com
Can we stop saying “vegan leather”? It’s not leather. Leather is made from animals. This is plastic.
Since it’s plastic, it’s also not “sustainable,” no matter what the brand claims. Plastic ends up in landfills. Plastic does not rot or decompose. Plastic is waste forever.
I’m okay with marketing spin, but it needs to be at least plausible. This is just inaccurate and misleading
Good point. From now on I’ll call “leather” “dead animal skins”.
I mean, you CAN make non-PVC “vegan leather alternative”, it doesn’t HAVE to be plastic-based, but I do agree it’s odd to call it leather at all. And yeah especially fast fashion brands and such aren’t going to bother investing in apple/mushroom/etc. alternatives when plastic is so much easier. I do believe Stella McCartney’s line uses mushrooms but don’t quote me on that, I haven’t checked or bought any of her bags.
There is currently no non-leather option on the market that doesn’t contain any plastic – including Stella’s mushroom alternative. I am not dissing the idea of this, I think any step forward is a good one, but I think the industry needs to be more transparent about the material origin!
In Italy, they banned the term.
Thank you! “Vegan leather” really irks me.
Yes it drives me crazy too! If I am limiting something to search for “leather” I want it to actually be leather in the results, not whatever this is. I hate the term “vegan leather”
This is from Ethical Made Easy: “Vegan leather is made from anything that does not come from an animal, but serves the same purpose as leather. It generally looks and feels the same too. The trouble is, vegan leather is most often made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyurethane. Both of these materials are made from fossil fuels and take many centuries to break down. Does that sound environmentally friendly to you?
To make it worse, PVC is very rigid, so a phthalate is added to make it flexible and wearable. “What’s a phthalate?” We’re glad you asked. Phthalates are highly toxic for the human body and the surrounding environment. They’re even banned in several countries!
PVC is very bad for the environment, PU is a little bit better then PVC (still not great though) and Kering doesn’t let any of it’s brand use PVC anymore (still PU though).
Little fact: LV’s toile is PVC… while a lot of customers think it’s leather….
Vegan products also doesn’t last long compare to real leather. I prefer to use or buy something will last years!!
Some designers opt for non-leather options because they care about animals
That might be the most naive comment I have ever read on PB.
So how about cloth? Wicker? Bamboo? Wood? Just please, don’t sell PVC and tell us it’s “sustainable.” Choose a non-petroleum alternative.
“Vegan leather” is, in most cases, a marketing term meant to obscure the fact that the bags are made or petroleum-derived products. It will take centuries for this bag to break down in landfills.
so does leather. it’s not that natural since its tanned and it’s coated with plastic. also takes at least 100 years.
I really only think faux leathers made from mushrooms or other organic materials should be called “vegan leather.” Honestly, leather is much more sustainable because if you properly care for it, it will last decades, whereas plastic will start to go off after a while even if it’s babied.
The Caroline bag is beautiful but they lost me at “vegan leather”. Agree with others that this is basically a petroleum-based bag. Made in China — to be fair, that is reflected in the price. As the founder is from China, I understand why the brand opted to make the bags there, but the factory demands described in the FAQ say nothing about worker conditions or pay. All of which make the bag a hard pass, which is a shame because it does have a striking look.
Love all styles!