What do you get when you cross the heiress to a Greek shipping dynasty and a scion of the Swarovski family? The kind of well-heeled fashion partnership that immediately gets the social set’s tongues wagging and our credit cards at the ready.
At least that's what we are predicting from Marina Raphael and Eugenie Niarchos' latest collaboration, a show stopping bit of arm candy which comes just in time for party season. The pair have designed a handbag that resembles a space age jewellery box, ideal for keeping secrets and life’s essentials. If that’s not enough they are also launching an NFT enabled loyalty programme (more on that later.)
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The Venyx x MR bags come in five colour ways
"I have always been a big fan of Eugenie’s sense of style and aesthetic," eponymous handbag designer Marina Raphael tells Hello! Fashion. As a sixth-generation member of the Swarovski family she also knows a thing or two about baubles which might explain the choice of silhouette for the design, "Combining our expertise, we decided to create a handbag that resembles a jewellery box, merging our worlds so that our customers can keep their most precious items within this showstopper," she reveals.
The feeling is certainly mutual, "Marina’s creations caught my eye instantly." Eugenie Niarchos, explains, "Before working on this collaboration, I wore her pieces and saw the synergy in the way we use jewels." The granddaughter of Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos founded her bohemian fine jewellery brand Venyx back in 2013, after a stint at Christie’s Fine Jewellery Department in New York. In true Greek fashion the moniker is a combination of the words 'Venus' and 'onyx.'
“Once we began brainstorming about the bags, the chemistry was instant, and we were immediately on the same page about what we envisioned for the bags,” Eugenie tells us, “We wanted to create a hybrid of elegance and sophistication with a bold, futuristic design. In the end we settled upon these five pieces.” The fully crystallised micro statement bag is available in five variations from sleek black and silver to iridescent as well as bejewelled versions in a rainbow colour palette.
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Venyx x MR in 'Black Napa'
Naturally the bags feature Swaorvski crystals, a signature for Marina's brand, "We use crystals to enhance and highlight. I love the idea of fully encrusting our designs with crystal and the versatility in which you can use them. I also find them irresistible. They immediately bring out the magpie in women and bring to life your handbags."
Seeing that the design of the bag is so futuristic, according to the women it was really a no-brainer to extend the collection into the metaverse, "This new digital age to me is a fascinating tool that opened my mind to new possibilities about how we can engage with our audience, and offer our customers a completely different retail experience," explains Marina, "We created an NFT enabled loyalty programme, being sure to connect the digital NFTs to physical experiences that can further engage our customers in our brand universe."
Venyx x MR in 'Irridescent Crystal'
Marina Raphael and Venyx make their sparkling entrance into the Metaverse, in partnership with Niftify, an NFT marketplace and Web3 platform. The first ten customers to buy the physical bag will be rewarded with a unique NFT, featuring an animation of the bag opening to unleash an outpouring of virtual gems. With these gems, owners can choose to unlock a variety of exclusive experiences and products. This includes a limited edition rainbow crystal choker designed by Venyx (of which there are only ten in the world), attendance of private events, early access to product launches and the ability to personalise a signature Marina Raphael design. Essentially they’ve created one of the most exclusive loyalty programmes in the industry at the moment. "The opportunities for fashion within the metaverse are endless and I love developing and exploring new facets to the brand within this virtual world," says Marina, "Pushing the brand to new boundaries beyond its physical limitations."
If anyone can do it, it's these two.
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