NOTD!STURB | Pop Culture Hand Painted Masterpieces

 

Do not disturb! My bag is talking


That is the sentiment behind the women-led Fiorentine brand NOTD!STURB.  When I think of  NOTD!STURB I think of Alec Monopoly sprinkled with estrogen and pasta sauce. Splashing fresh paint across luxury goods has recently been a popular way to make a statement in fashion. If you are on the market for your very only Alec Monopoly Berkin bag without dropping 125K, consider NOTD!STURB.

The company was started by designers Gemma Vaccaro and Giulia Sella, who dreamed of creating colourful, unique, hand-painted bags. Today, their Instagram account is a popular attraction with a seemingly endless parade of followers flaunting their personalized bags. 

In fact, the company’s success is due in large part to the social media model of having well-known brand ambassadors. By supplying Italian influencers with their product in the early stages, the brand’s popularity grew exponentially over a short period of time.

The bags are entirely hand painted, which is an old tradition, but the subjects are contemporary. In this way, Florentine craftsmanship is combined with creativity, giving the classic a modern twist. The brand seeks to bring the customer back to a time when wanting a specific product was a collaborative effort between the purchaser and the designer. The entrepreneurs want to move away from fast fashion, a concept in which consumers want and receive everything immediately, which completely strips the value from what we buy.

The designs feature bright colours, larger-than-life cartoons and even some profanity (if you so choose) because the designers want to remind women to take up space and be loud. The handbag is a symbol of femininity, but the parameters of what that means can and should be rewritten. Even more important to the designers, it should mean something completely different to each individual woman. 

The brand has a showroom in Florence. The space is divided over two floors. The atelier where the designers work is upstairs and the showroom is downstairs, where they receive customers and hold meetings. Those who can’t get themselves to Florence.