Nearly four years after launching her handbag collection, accessories designer Lola Banjo has created one of the most buzzed-about brands on the fashion market.
And for good reason. Not only is carrying a bag from a Black designer a badge of honor, Black entrepreneurs continue to stand out in the luxury industry, which is estimated to be worth 297 billion by 2026, according to research firm Global Industry Analysts.
The “it” girl of the luxury design space, Lola Banjo is the founder of Silver and Riley, a luxury travel and accessories brand that boasts artisan handbags crafted in Italy with the finest quality materials attainable, in the same factories that produce luxury designer fashion like Balmain and Alexander Wang, at a fraction of the price.
And it’s easy to see why the fashion girlies would find the brand so irresistible — the New York based designer’s innate knack for reinventing classic silhouettes makes her bags playful, versatile and timeless all at once. Focusing on craftsmanship, high-quality materials and environmentally conscious production, as well as embracing plenty of the razzle dazzle that lends itself so well to social media with influencer ambassadors such as Vanessa Simmons, she has been able to create a brand that marries timelessness with buzz, something which is not easy to do.
And this is just the beginning.
The brand just launched its most coveted leather bag to date — The New Yorker. Handcrafted in Italy, The New Yorker retails for $995 making it the highest priced everyday purse in the Silver & Riley collection. It’s currently offered in two colorways, each paying homage to the New York neighborhoods – Astoria Noir and Soho Red. All Silver & Riley bags are named after the cities that inspired them, each carrying an element of where its ideation conspired.
The New Yorker is an ode to its iconic namesake, and just like the city that bears its name, she is timeless. “As a native New Yorker, I may sound partial when I say New York is the greatest city in the world, but having traveled to cities across 103 different countries, I can say it with certainty.”
She continues, “New York is full of possibilities, and full of beauty, grit and style. New York shaped me into the woman and designer I am, it reminds me to dream big, and taught me how to be strong and resilient. I wanted to design a bag that encompassed all of that. The New Yorker bag is three years in the making, it is perfectly sleek and chic, with beautiful corners and edges, attention to detail, and of course made tough – with the most impeccable quality calf leather. I wanted this bag to be show stopping. I changed the details so many times until at last I felt it was great, to properly revere the greatest city in the world.”
Before Banjo ventured to design her own collection, honing in on a classic-but-contemporary aesthetic that could rival any of your favorite designer brands, she was shattering the glass ceilings of corporate America — a role she maintains today. In addition to building her brand, Banjo has spent the majority of her career in consulting roles at companies such as Deloitte and Accenture. More recently, she’s been at Salesforce, where’s currently the Vice President, GTM Strategy, a role that she says has contributed to her vision behind Silver & Riley.
“Working in consulting, I traveled so much for work and got to experience various modes of moving around,” she shares. “That is where I observed handbags and the way people use them; bags are a universal language. Aside from that, my work helped me hone my business skills and critical thinking skills, so it definitely contributes to the way I run Silver & Riley.”
A certified jetsetter (with an Instagram feed to prove it), Banjo travels to Italy once a month to visit the factories where her bags are produced, to ensure quality and construction. “A sneaky secret that many brands don’t want consumers to know is that many products that are labeled Made in Italy are actually only assembled in Italy, and the components come from all over the world (from lower quality, low cost-producing regions),” she shares. “Their version of “Made in Italy”, is not necessarily a lie, but it is not telling the full story. So first and foremost, customers should look for brand and product transparency from any company they are considering buying from. If you see that leather materials are sourced and manufactured in Italy then that is a sign of a high quality product.”
An inspiration to us all, if there’s one thing that Banjo wants to leave behind, it’s her compassion and commitment for helping others.
One of the ways in which she does this is by amplifying Black women entrepreneurs through Silver & Riley’s Buy1Give5 initiative. As part of the program, five percent of all sales go to other women entrepreneurs to help start, grow, or scale their businesses. “As an entrepreneur, I know first hand that it’s never too soon to give back and no contribution is too small to other women entrepreneurs, especially those from traditionally underfunded demographics,” she says.