Viva Italia
Talk about commitment to craft: Jeffrey Parker and Tony Ta uprooted
their entire lives for JT Italia, their new handbag line. The Fashion
Institute of Technology–educated pair—they bonded in draping
class—toiled in various corporate design positions while kicking
around the idea of setting out on their own; their pipe dream was a
small luxury collection produced in the fabled factories of Florence. So
last year the duo relocated to the Italian city and launched an
unabashedly luxe lineup of leather totes and pavé crystal
clutches, their silhouettes folded, stitched and, yes, draped
meticulously. “We felt we could match the techniques of
ready-to-wear,” Ta explains. “No one was doing these kinds
of curved seams and darts.” Consider it tailoring for one’s
carryall.
September 2009
