Missibaba designer introduces her summer collection at stylish new Trumpet store in Rosebank

We asked Lizel Strydom and Chloe Townsend, the dynamic duo behind the Missibaba luxury leathergoods label, to tell us about their new collection.

Wanted Question: Party season is here and you have created a collection of delicious new clutches to celebrate the opening of your first stand-alone store at Keyes Art Mile TRUMPET. Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind each design:

Missibaba Answer: We are very excited to unveil our new space and look forward to introducing many capsule collections expressing our joy of making. With art being the focus of the design complex we have been inspired to create limited edition artworks on clutches. It is a smorgasbord of delightful quirky treats. Some of the collection has taken a somewhat surrealist slant finding inspiration with designers and artist such as Schiaparelli and Dali. Nature has of course worked her wonder on our souls with bugs, birds, reptiles and blooms featuring heavily in the new clutch collection. 

WQ: The half moon Fan Clutch has been reimagined. Why did you choose this silhouette as your canvas?

MA: We chose this silhouette because it translates well as a canvas being one piece, which, once embellished, is folded in half. This allows for the story to wrap around the clutch making each side unique. 

WQ: We would love to know a bit more about the leathers and hardware needed to create these clutches. What has been used and where do you source your quality materials? 

MA: We source some of our leathers in Argentina while others are sourced locally. We've had such fun playing with the jewel like colours we brought back from Argentina after a recent sourcing trip. Having this extensive, heart throbbing palette at hand has allowed us to express ourselves with wild abandon. 

WQ: Missibaba is well known for its imaginative product naming. Is there a story behind the name of each of these new beauties? 

MA: Persephone - This glorious woman's Grecian profile reminds us of Persephone goddess of the underworld, daughter of Demeter (Mother Nature) & Zeus. 

The Jitterbug was named for obvious reasons. We love bugs, especially when they are doing a little shimmy shake across fuchsia mounds!

The Lobster Lover - We drew inspiration for this design from a leather jacket that we are working on - Lobsters mate for life holding claws! We adore this sentiment and decided to perch a lovely lobster on a crock navy patent rock and adorned it with luscious moss green suede in our clutch design.

Sweet Like Candy – This design was inspired delectable candy deliciousness, macaroons and other sweet treats - Candy colored scallops circling a milk chocolate woven centre.  Perhaps wearing candy on your am can satisfy a girl’s hunger for the sweeter side of life!

Petal Fan – This was the first design we created many moons ago. Always drawn to the beauty of our natural world, this design echoes an explosion of blossoms in Spring or the gentle reflections of blossoms on a body of water.

Cleopatra – Inspired by the powerful woman herself with her magnificent adornment, this design with its the bold circular brick like motif echo her neckpieces and the pyramids.

WQ: Lastly, Missibaba has introduced a certified quantities label with this new clutch collection; tell us a bit more about the reason behind doing so?

MA: This is a design component that we have wanted to include for quite some time. We are excited to start dreaming up further capsule collections and these unique labels will be the perfect way to show our customers how many units of a particular design have been created. 

Missibaba Trumpet Building, 19 Keyes Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg