My favorite handbags: Fi by Gaja

As women have become more emancipated, their handbags have grown in size. In the beginning, a woman needed only a handkerchief in her bag. Today, she carries documents, car keys, and countless other items essential for independent living. The crossbody bag only became popular in the 1970s, symbolizing a new level of emancipation—it gave women a new way of moving. With their hands finally free, they gained a new kind of agency. The first symbolic hint of this freedom came even earlier, in 1955, with the launch of the iconic 2.55 handbag by Coco Chanel, featuring a long strap designed to be worn over the shoulder.

In her book Women Icons of the 20th Century, Svetlana Slapšak writes: “A woman’s handbag always holds something different and something more than a man’s bag. A sorceress opens her treasures, and no one knows what will emerge or how it might change the world around her. A remedy, a poison, a weapon, a mirror, a sewing kit, forgotten messages, an unexpected solution—all these may come out of a woman’s handbag.”

With Gaja’s bags, we are not only free—we are also sustainable, ethical, and innovative. I adore them for their lightness, generous size, outstanding craftsmanship, and durability. Gaja Hanzel, my mentee and a talented designer I began working with through the Sežana Incubator, creates fashion accessories—mainly handbags—based on the principles of slow and ethical fashion.

For more information and to shop the collection, visit her website: www.fibygaja.com.