Anya Hindmarch is known for her luxurious yet quirky bags and her home, a townhouse by the Thames that combines exceptional craftsmanship with a playful edge, is much the same
Words: Luciana Bellini
Is there anything Anya Hindmarch can't do? The designer, 58, founded her eponymous brand aged 19 in 1987 after being inspired by some bags she came across while on her year abroad in Florence. She promptly returned home to Essex and started selling leather goods from her kitchen table. Since then, she's become a household name, with her luxurious yet quirky designs worn by everyone from Kate Moss to the Princess of Wales.
A mother of five, she wrote a book, If in Doubt, Wash your Hair, in 2021, the same year she opened The Village, her parade of shops on Pont Street clustered around the chic Anya Cafe, a firm favourite with residents of Belgravia and Chelsea.
Over her career she has turned highlighter pens and Heinz ketchup packets into must-have clutch bags and keyrings, Irn Bru and Bisto gravy into must-try ice cream flavours as part of her popular annual Ice Cream Project pop-up, and was made a dame in the king's 2024 birthday honours.
Now Hindmarch has a new accolade to add to her ever-growing list: a royal warrant. “It was a wonderful surprise and a real honour,” she says of being awarded the warrant as manufacturer of handbags and leather goods to Her Majesty the Queen.
“The appointment is a true privilege and affirms our deep respect for the royal household.” When I ask where it ranks in terms of her career achievements so far, she says it's right up there. “This is a huge highlight and a great inspiration to continue to uphold the standards of excellence it represents.”
When it comes to choosing other accolades she's particularly proud of, the list is long and varied, but she's keen to single out her l Am Not A Plastic Bag design.
“That was a lightbulb moment for me,” she says. “It came to define my point of view as fashion with purpose and led to charges being brought in for single use plastic bags. It also led to the I Am A Plastic Bag project, a step to reusing the materials already in use, the Return To Nature collection, a fully compostable leather, and the Universal Bag, a fully recycled and recyclable bag. That project has saved over 500 tonnes of plastic from landfill with 34 global partners to date.”
A true Belgravia local, Hindmarch has been in and around the area for decades, from opening her first shop on Walton Street in 1993 to the creation of The Village. When I ask why she's always been drawn to the neighbourhood, her answer is simple. “It feels like home to me,” she says. “And some of our bags are named after the areas I have been connected to, for example, the Walton collection of luggage.” Her own home is nearby, in a Georgian townhouse near the Thames in Westminster. She loves the area's “special local community”.
Never one to follow the pack, Hindmarch decided to lean into retail when everyone else was giving up on physical stores, with the realisation of The Village one of her long-held dreams.
“It was a bold move when many were questioning the relevance of bricks and mortar retail but, for me, retail is not just about selling – it is about creating an experience, building a community and making people feel something when they interact with your brand,” she says. “It is our fifth anniversary this summer and I am proud of what we are building.”
Perhaps the most popular spot is the Village Hall, her offbeat pop-up space that, throughout the spring, hosted Off Duty, a playful take on the 1980s airport lounges of yesteryear filled with Hindmarch's summer capsule collection – think elegant raffia totes and beaded crab-shaped bags. Next up is the return of the Ice Cream Project in early June, so you can expect queues around the block. “There'll be a new line-up of flavours, but that's all I can share for now!”
One of the newer openings in The Village is Anya Life, which launched in September 2023 to house Hindmarch's luxury homeware and lifestyle collection. The striking range – designed in a pared back, monochrome palette – features ceramics made and hand-decorated in Stoke-on-Trent alongside the brand's bestselling fragrances, stationery and textiles, with many items adorned with Hindmarch's trademark cartoon eyes.
“[The collection] felt like a very natural extension for me and is inspired by lots of happy memories created around the table,”she says. “I hope these pieces become part of those stories for others.” As for her own personal style when it comes to interiors, Hindmarch says the collection is very nuch a reflection of that. She describes her home as “eclectic”. “My kitchen has a graffiti wall that acts as a sort of ad hoc visitors' book,” she says.
“It's about exceptional craftsmanship but with a playful edge.” Naturally, you'll find plenty of Anya Life pieces dotted around her home. “Nothing beats boiled eggs, buttered toast and a cup of earl grey for breakfast on a Saturday morning – food of the gods,” she says. “It's the eggcups and teapot that are in constant use in my house.”
Though her family spends a lot of time in the kitchen, Anya says that's not actually her favourite room. In fact, her best-loved space isn't even inside the house. “We have a little garden that I have filled with ferns. It feels like a room without a roof, which is magic when filled with candles on a warm night.” For anyone who is looking to inject a bit of personality into their own interiors, she has just one piece of advice. “Have fun with it and just play,” she says. “There is nothing less interesting than a too perfect house.”
