LONDON

Sac Freres. Quintessentially English, Sac Freres, just off Bond Street, is a really new hand bag/luggage boutique. Situated in a former art gallery space, the shop is laid out like a museum, with all the bags displayed in glass cases with visual references to original costumes, pictures and text to explain the story behind each collection. What's more, these bags can only be bought there and nowhere else in the world. They are really special, because they are made from recycling luxury materials used for other purposes. The shocking pink bag in the window, from The Matador Collection, is made from algodon sedoso or silky cotton from which bull fighters capes are made from. Then, you have The Huntsman Collection, made from authentic scarlet Calvary wool twill. Or, The House of Lords Collection, the very same ruby red deep-buttoned upholstery leather which adorns the Upper House. For evening wear, The Vatican Collection offers black silk evening bags piped in cardinal red and bishop purple, these fabrics are supplied by the pope's tailor in Rome. The concept is the brainchild of James Mullen, the founder of Thomas Pink, who after selling the shirt company for an estimated forty-three million pounds to the LVMH group, was not content to watch fabulous fabrics and workmanship pigeonholed.

www.sacfreres.com