It’s been over a decade since designer Raul Lopez launched his eponymous label, Lure, but it’s only in the past few years that the brand has gained enough momentum to be considered a fashion mainstay. Much of this success can be attributed to the Lure Ana bag, which quickly became a status icon.
Launched in 2021, the Ana, known for its circular top handle and boxy shape, became a must-have for fashion insiders at New York Fashion Week. The bag catapulted to It-bag status in 2022, landing Lopez on Time’s Next 100 list and being named a “Brand to Watch” in Lyst’s Year in Fashion report. In 2024, Beyoncé was spotted wearing a silver maxi version of the bag at Lure’s fall/winter show.
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The success of the Ana is indicative of a broader fashion phenomenon: shoppers are moving away from traditional luxury handbags in search of better value. Retailing for under $400 depending on the size and color, the Ana bag is heavily influenced by Lopez’s Dominican heritage. The designs are recognizable to those in the know, and first became popular among fashion industry insiders before going mainstream and becoming one of the most popular accessories today. For proof, just scroll through TikToks shopping for the Lure Ana bag.
What makes the Ana bag a standout piece isn’t necessarily its celebrity endorsement or social media popularity, but because the bag is inscribed with Lopez’s own story. “It’s both a form of creating an heirloom that can be passed down for generations, but also a physical representation of the people who paved the way for me to get to where I am,” Lopez told InStyle about the process of creating the Ana bag. “I think it’s a very special bag that’s very meaningful not only to me, but also to the people who can relate to my story and carry that story with them.”
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Of course, positioning handbags as heirlooms isn’t a revolutionary idea—Chanel and Hermès styles have long been passed down from generation to generation and have held their value over time—but the overall concept is more often associated with European luxury brands than the Brooklyn-born designer of Dominican parents. And that’s exactly what Lopez is trying to overturn: fashion’s tendency to restrict who and what can be called luxury.
“I sat down and studied what the big conglomerates and brands were doing that I wasn’t, and it was obviously accessories,” Lopez explains. And by naming his most popular handbag “Ana,” to represent all the women in his family, he paid tribute to the “strong, powerful women” whose sense of style inspired the silhouette. “These people really mean a lot to me, and they’re what made me who I am,” he says.
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Lopez’s boundary-pushing strategy is paying off: The CFDA awarded him the 2022 Accessories Designer of the Year award, and brands like Mejuri are tapping into his Anabag universe. For example, the latter released a white-and-gold version of the Anabag and a set of hoop earrings in 2023. Rum brand Zacapa also partnered with Lure to develop a new Anabag in a black-and-gold maxi version and a Lure-branded rum bottle.
Now, Lopez has partnered with American Express to sell three limited-edition metallic models in gold, white gold, and rose gold for $265. “I’ve always wanted to incorporate this color and texture into a bag, but also with charms and other things I’ve never done before on a bag,” Lopez explains. “The Ana bag itself is so versatile, with so many different walks of life and owners, and I think the same can be said for the American Express card.”
Three years after its release, the Anna bag has firmly established itself as a Lure staple and an icon redefining the industry’s view of luxury. Beyoncé famously carried the handbag to designer shows last winter, but Lopez’s favorite Ana moment happened in Paris, when he spotted a woman wearing the bag at the city’s Ritz Hotel. “I thought, ‘Wow!'” he recalls. “Two worlds had really collided.”
At the intersection of Brooklyn, working class, immigrant women, Caribbean heritage and the world of high fashion, Lure’s Ana bags have built a legend. But no matter what people say, Lopez says she just wanted to make a good classic bag.
