Trailblazing singer-songwriter Nina Simone is a shared passion for both fashion designer Gabriela Hearst and artist Adam Pendleton. She is the namesake for Hearst’s well-loved Nina bag, while Pendleton was one of a group of artists to purchase Simone’s childhood home for preservation. United by admiration, Hearst and Pendleton have come together to release an exciting, hand-painted, 25-bag limited edition of the Nina handbag.
The handbags will be available exclusively through Sotheby’s and will be on view at the Madison Avenue Breuer building until April 26. Each bag in the series is one-of-a-kind. The design infuses the high-fashion accessory with Pendleton’s signature black-and-white, shape-based artistic imprint. Pendleton himself painted and signed the bags, treating each as a unique three-dimensional canvas.
“This was a project of careful thoroughness and thought process in honor of Nina Simone, a muse and an inspiration for us,” says Hearst.
Photo: Courtesy Adam Pendleton
The handbags will be available exclusively through Sotheby’s and will be on view at the Madison Avenue Breuer building until April 26. Each bag in the series is one-of-a-kind. The design infuses the high-fashion accessory with Pendleton’s signature black-and-white, shape-based artistic imprint. Pendleton himself painted and signed the bags, treating each as a unique three-dimensional canvas.
“This was a project of careful thoroughness and thought process in honor of Nina Simone, a muse and an inspiration for us,” says Hearst.
Pendleton adds, “The contours of the bag are as iconic as Nina Simone’s voice and her artistic courage. I’m proud to make an object people can carry with them—one that reinforces the possibilities of art, life, and meaningful collaboration.” Like the bag, the conservation of Simone’s former home was a shared effort between creative individuals: artists Ellen Gallagher, Rashid Johnson, and Julie Mehretu joined with Pendleton as buyers back in 2017.