Carrying the Legacy Forward: Caro Boyes on the New Carrol Boyes Handbag Collection

Caro Boyes

Few South African design names possess a visual language as instantly recognisable as Carrol Boyes. Sculptural, expressive and unmistakably original, the brand has long transformed functional objects into pieces of art. Now, under the creative direction of Caro Boyes, that distinctive design philosophy is stepping confidently beyond the home and into the world of fashion.

The new Carrol Boyes Handbag Collection represents both an exciting evolution and a deeply personal continuation of the brand’s story. Drawing inspiration from Carrol Boyes’ extraordinary archive, the collection revisits original patterns, forms and statement hardware, reinterpreting them through a contemporary lens for a new generation of design-conscious consumers.

For Caro, the move into handbags is particularly meaningful. Fashion was a creative territory she had discussed at length with Carrol and her father, Charles, while her own fascination with luxury leather goods developed during her years studying in London. The collection brings these influences together, balancing heritage with modernity, craftsmanship with functionality, and sculpture with the intimacy of an object designed to be carried every day.

At its heart is a compelling question: how do you preserve an extraordinary creative legacy without allowing it to stand still?

SA Décor & Design editor Marcia Margolius caught up with Caro Boyes, Creative Director of Carrol Boyes, to discuss the inspiration behind the handbag collection, the importance of the brand’s remarkable design archive, and how she is carrying Carrol’s curiosity, confidence and originality into an exciting new era.

1. The Carrol Boyes Handbag Collection marks an exciting new chapter for the Carrol Boyes brand. What inspired you to expand into handbags, and what story did you want this collection to tell?

Fashion was something that Carrol, my father Charles and I had discussed at length before Carrol passed away. She had explored the category before, including a handbag collection in 2004, but she had never really had the opportunity to give it her full focus. It was something I always knew I wanted to come back to.

There is also a very personal connection for me. When studying in London, I became slightly obsessed with luxury leather goods. I spent a lot of time looking at the great handbag brands, understanding what made them special.

So, when I returned to Carrol Boyes, handbags felt like a very natural place for those worlds to come together. In many ways, the collection continues a conversation that Carrol had already started. We went back to her original designs and statement hardware but looked at them through a new lens.

2. Many of the patterns are inspired by Carrol Boyes’ original archive designs. How did you balance honouring her remarkable creative legacy while introducing your own contemporary design perspective?

The archive is an incredible resource, but I never want us to treat it as something precious that can’t be touched. Carrol herself was constantly experimenting and evolving, so I think the best way to honour her is to continue that spirit rather than simply reproduce what she did.

With the handbag collection, I spent a lot of time going back through her original work and looking at what still felt powerful and relevant. Certain patterns, forms and pieces of statement hardware immediately stood out. From there, it became about changing scale, playing with placement and introducing those elements in ways that feel more contemporary.

There is always a balance. I want someone who has loved Carrol Boyes for twenty years to recognise something familiar, but I also want someone discovering the brand for the first time to simply see a distinctive handbag and want to know more about it.

3. As both a designer and someone deeply connected to the brand’s history, how do you see the Carrol Boyes aesthetic evolving for a new generation of design-conscious consumers?

For me, the challenge is not to reinvent Carrol Boyes. It is to keep it moving.

Carrol created such a distinctive design language. There is humour, sculpture and a real confidence to it. Those qualities are still incredibly relevant. What changes is the way we express them.

A new generation is discovering brands very differently. They are incredibly visually literate and they care about originality, but they also want to understand the story behind what they are buying. Our strength is that we have decades of original design, an extraordinary archive and a very clear point of view.

My role is to take all of that and consider what Carrol Boyes should look and feel like today, and ten or twenty years from now. Sometimes that means revisiting an archive piece, sometimes it means introducing a completely new material or category, and sometimes it means simplifying things.

4. Luxury today is about more than beautiful products. It’s about craftsmanship, authenticity and longevity. How have these values influenced the materials, functionality and design of the handbag collection?

I think a handbag is one of those objects where you very quickly understand whether something has been properly considered. It can look beautiful on a shelf, but you actually have to live with it.

That was incredibly important to me. Of course, the leather, finishes and hardware had to be great quality, but functionality was just as important.

The Carrol Boyes aesthetic has always been about objects that are functional but also have a sculptural quality to them. The handbags extend that idea into something much more personal: functional art that you can actually carry with you.

5. Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of the Carrol Boyes brand, and are there other lifestyle categories or creative collaborations you hope to explore?

What excites me most is that there is still so much territory for Carrol Boyes to explore.

For many people, their first introduction to the brand has been through the home, but I have always believed that the design language Carrol created can live far beyond a single category.

There is also something so exciting about having this archive behind us while still having permission to move forward. I feel a responsibility to protect what makes Carrol Boyes special, but I don’t think protecting a legacy means keeping it unchanged.For me, the future is about taking Carrol’s curiosity, confidence and originality into new places, while making sure that whatever we do still has that moment where you look at it and immediately know: that’s Carrol Boyes.