PHOTOGRAPHY AND STYLING BY AMANDA LAURO
WRITTEN BY TARA GUAIMANO
CARA BENEVENIA PILOTS HER OWN LUXURY HANDBAG BRAND
L ugging a bulky canvas tote nearly half her size, Cara Benevenia sits down at a table in a small coffee shop in Morristown, N.J. “I’m heading to my nannying job after this,” Benevenia explains, as she takes off her dark puffer coat to reveal a black velvet tracksuit. The tote was filled with three artisan leather handbags, each an inaugural piece of the 24-year- old’s luxury accessory brand, ‘Cara Benevenia.’ “Every single step of the bag is done by hand,” Benevenia points out. Benevenia’s great-grandfather immigrated to the United States from a small town in southern Italy, and began an apprenticeship at a tailor shop in Hudson County, N.J. Today, the leather factory spearheading Benevenia’s manufacturing sits only a few miles down the road, preserving the family’s circle of craftsmanship on the very same soil.
Benevenia will soon trade her sophisticated leather bag for a babysitter’s tote. She has juggled multiple full and part-time jobs in the past few months, all in an effort to fund her luxury startup.
In 2017, Benevenia graduated with a degree in fashion design fromMarist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where she won the award for Best Collection at Marist’s 31st annual Silver Needle Runway show.
MODELS Codou Diallo (Left), Rebecca Cole (Right) HANDBAGS Cara Benevenia FASHION Marist Fashion Archives
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