With the huge movement toward sustainable materials happening nowadays, the term "upcycling" has been coined by fashion insiders when stuff is recycled to create new clothing or accessories. Ilaria Venturini Fendi has been creating some gorgeous handbags with all sorts of crazy materials, so you can look fashionable and feel good about making less of an impact on nature.

As the daughter of one of the five Fendi sisters of the famed Italian brand, Ilaria Venturini Fendi found herself designing in the family firm but not feeling fulfilled. After leaving haute fashion for a life on an organic, sustainable farm near Rome, she felt the pull back to fashion design after a couple of years — but with an unconventional twist. She still has the farm, and in fashion she now specializes in upcycling — the repurposing of old or discarded objects into new, higher-valued items.

Her Carmina Campus ("chants of the field" in Latin) line of handbags and accessories, started in 2006, has used airplane cushions, [and much, much more]... Read More