Opening Ceremony's LUAR Ana Mini Bags Are "FOR THE CULTURE"
Hood By Air’s Raul Lopez sees his brand’s “it” piece be reworked by Opening Ceremony, while the two also deliver a special artist sweater.
Raul Lopez co-founded Hood by Air with Shayne Oliver in 2005, but there’s much more to this Latinx and Brooklyn-born designer than just HBA. In 2017, Raul founded LUAR, his reverse-spelled namesake label that’s self-described as being “FOR THE CULTURE.” Now, LUAR teams up with Carol Lim and Humberto Leon‘s Opening Ceremony for the release of two limited-edition takes on the former’s signature Ana Mini bag, coinciding with Opening Ceremony’s 20th-anniversary celebrations.
LUAR’s focus is on the people, making sure that they can be “included, seen and celebrated.” This inclusive attitude leans into LUAR’s creativity, making looks to “serve the communities that matter most.” With a fanbase including Dua Lipa and Troye Sivan, as well as the glitterati that donned their LUAR bags at numerous recent fashion weeks, LUAR is on a steady rise to rival other brands known for their “IT” bag. And while bags are not the core of LUAR, as it serves up New York Fashion Week runway shows decked with inclusive clothing, the Ana Mini is set to become everyone’s next desire.
For its collaboration with Opening Ceremony, LUAR’s Ana Mini appears made over in “Tobacco” pony hair-effect leather and “Black/Cream” snakeskin-embossed vegan leather. Each bag bears the brand’s signature plaque on the front, sporting cursive shiny silver lettering for an unmistakable look. This sits alongside two permanently-shaped handles and silver hardware and zippers, as well as a crossbody strap that matches the bags’ respective designs.
Inside, LUAR’s tag appears once more, while an “L” shaped hangtag rounds things off. To complete the collaboration, Opening Ceremony and LUAR have worked with the Dominican-American artist Bony Ramirez to create a sweatshirt that depicts Ramirez’s work Feeding a Child of the Ocean, which sits on the reverse of the piece alongside a co-branded logo on the front.
Speaking on the collaboration, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim said: “When we decided to bring together our friends new and old for collaborations this year, Raul was a no-brainer. Outside of being a dear personal friend of ours, we have such a deep pride and respect for what Raul has built with LUAR, and we love how everything he creates deeply reflects the unmatched energy of New York.”
Raul Lopez added, “When I started to take my first steps as a designer, OC was the first store to believe in me and support me. OC will forever be family to me.”
Take a look at the Opening Ceremony x LUAR collaboration above, and be sure to cop the Ana Mini bags and accompanying sweater when it all drops on Opening Ceremony’s website, come July 12. The bags are priced at $265 USD each, while the sweater retails for $175 USD.
In other news, OAMC has worked with the ’60s Japanese magazine PROVOKE on a six-piece collaboration.
