Sara Battaglia

If you are drawn to colour and sculptural shape rather than a discreet black bag, they make a strong case. Sara Battaglia is most renowned for her use of vibrant colours combined with sharp tailoring, and handbags were where the label began before it expanded. They are pieces bought to stand out, so the value is in the personality as much as the leather.

A bold, joyful aesthetic. The label is celebrated for vibrant colours and sharp tailoring, offering the modern woman revised 1950s and 1960s looks. That mid-century glamour, reworked in playful palettes, is the thread that runs through the whole collection.

She started with handbags. Sara Battaglia began by designing handbags and then expanded into a ready-to-wear label. So the accessories are the brand's foundation, with the clothing arriving as a natural extension of the same vision.

Yes, and Milan is central to its story. After studying and working between Milan, Florence and Paris, the designer chose to establish her atelier back in Milan, where she still lives, and the collections are presented during Milan Fashion Week. It is Italian through and through.

She is the fashion designer who founded the eponymous label. Born on 30 April 1987, she graduated in Arts at the Brera Academy before moving between Milan, Florence and Paris and ultimately returning to Milan to open her atelier. The brand carries her own name and her own point of view.

A distinctly design-led set of references. Battaglia draws inspiration from photographer Slim Aarons and from designers Ettore Sottsass and Jean Prouvé, which helps explain the architectural lines and confident colour. That blend of poolside glamour and modernist design gives the work its particular character.

Very much so. She was raised in a creative family in Milan where her mother taught sculpture at the Brera Fine Arts Academy for several years, and her siblings work across the arts and fashion. That immersion shows in the sculptural confidence of her designs.

Yes, they are sisters. Sara's sister is the creative director Giovanna Battaglia Engelbert, while her older brother Antonio is a gallerist and her younger brother Luigi is a set designer. It is a family with deep roots across fashion and the arts.

Several, in fact. In recent years she has worked with international names including Salvatore Ferragamo and Frame, and in 2022 she partnered with Marina Rinaldi on a capsule collection called Absolutely Flawless. Those partnerships have widened her reach beyond the namesake label.

Let the bag lead. Because the label's signature is bold colour against clean, sharp tailoring, the easiest route is to keep the rest of the outfit pared back so the piece reads as the focal point. A simple silhouette with one vivid Battaglia accessory captures the brand's mid-century-meets-modern spirit.