Carlos Falchi was a renowned handbag designer whose statement bags draped the shoulders of people like Mick Jagger, Madonna and Sarah Jessica Parker. When he passed in 2015 his wife and eldest daughter Kate continued the family tradition – but made it their own.
We caught up with Kate Falchi at her vibrant Austin home, where every art-filled wall tells a story, much like the bags she and her mom now create under the brand name Lovard.
“It’s a family name from a Texas relative who’s male but was a very early feminist and we like the idea of celebrating women and people celebrating women,” Kate says of the name, admitting, “We also just it.”
There wasn’t too much of a learning curve launching Lovard. She says, “My mom and I design the whole line and we worked together for my father’s company forever. When he passed away we still had something to say and it was very easy because we’d already been working together for so long.
“It’s funny because at my dad’s company there were always times my mom and I would come up with a bag and think ,‘this doesn’t fit the collection at all, like this isn’t Carlos Falchi at all.’ Looking back on it those were the origins of Lovard, that vision that was uniquely ours that never fit in to my dad’s collection. The only commonality with Carlos Falchi and Lovard is color and fabric, the python.”
Some differences are the addition of jewelry, which Kate says “came along because we’re gals and we were doing hardware for the bags anyway so decided to try our hands at jewelry,” and the impact of Kate’s move to Austin (her mom is based in Dallas).
“Being in Austin has been a huge source of inspiration,” she says. “It’s really effecting our designs in a great way, being around people who love color helps. You find yourself being more bold because people of Austin especially get it and that’s helpful because it makes you feel more confident about taking those chances in your design work.”
Kate, who says she’s known she wanted to get into the family business, “Always!” says like her dad’s collection, Lovard is “Colorful,l bright and bold.” And the color palette is very much by design. “The collection color is the most important and all of the color is custom, nothing is bought off the rack,” she says. “We spend a lot of time developing the custom color palette and trying to find the in-between colors that make it really feel special. That’s the thing that makes a bag stop someone on the street, because they haven’t seen it before, and that’s the kind of moment we try to go for every single time.”
Rather than seasonal, you can find regular drops at ShopLovard.com or on their Instagram @shoplovard.