A love letter to the incredibly iconic, oft-forgotten Copa Collection bags.
Sometime in the 1970s, the Brazilian designer Carvalhu Rio Ernande created the most amazing brutalist handbags under the brand Copa Collection. Copa Collection bags double as jewelry, using supple leather as a base, anchored with big, bold organic brass fixtures typically covered in raw crystal gemstones like quartz or amethyst.
I first discovered Copa Collection at an antique mall in Western New York. The most beautiful, shiny lipstick red bag was shoved inside a crowded glass case, its brutalist sculptural brass accent loaded up with amethysts and shining like nothing else I had ever seen. Copa Collection bags are a huge maximalist statement, full of life, character and personality. Each Copa Collection bag is one-of-a-kind, given the handmade nature of the sculpted brass and crystal placement, making them feel extremely special. The designer often used metallic shades of liquid-like silver, plush gold or hot pink. Many of the pieces are signed, scratched by hand in the metal and everything is made in Brazil. In the context of the modern handbag industry today–no one is doing anything like this.
Interestingly, Copa Collection bags are pretty easy to find on the secondhand market, in a range of prices and style. Most of them are priced under $200. It seems like the brand produced a fair amount of inventory in the 1970s and 1980s. But there’s very little information out there about the brand. It even appears that Copa Collection made jewelry at one point; in the form of hulking brass cuffs and. pendant necklaces.
I love that each Copa Collection bag is like a shiny little amulet of niche bag history.
Sudden Chic uses affiliate links where possible, which means we may get a small commission from things you buy. Thanks for your support.
Leave a Comment