BRIGHT IDEA IN A PURSE
Looking at the Bay Bridge’s newly illuminated “Bay Lights” sculpture, a twinkling marvel by artist Leo Villareal, it’s no wonder that New York womenswear designer Lisa Perry was inspired to bring some of that shimmer to her line. Perry and her husband have collected Villareal’s work for years, so she invited the artist to collaborate with her on a clutch purse. The result is the Scintillator. “We have this sculpture of his in our home and I’d pass it and say, ‘This would be a gorgeous evening bag. If we shrink this down, we could make it into wearable art.’ ” Two years in the making, the handbag with LED lights powered by a computer chip twinkles in a seemingly random pattern on the outside; inside, its 4½-by-7½ inches is spacious enough to carry the basics for a night on the town. The lights last for eight hours and are bright enough to see in both night and day. Each bag comes with a charger, is numbered and contains Villareal’s signature etched into the metal. It’s Perry’s fifth collaboration with an artist, and possibly her most popular. Whenever she carries the clutch, she says, it’s a conversation piece among women and men. The bags have sold quickly at trunk shows in Florida and San Francisco; another shipment is expected to land in New York City soon. “I’ll say it’s mesmerizing and hypnotic,” Perry said, “but also scintillating.” $2,995 at Barney’s New York, 77 O’Farrell St., San Francisco.