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Care to guess the source of the hottest handbags of the momentthe ones that celebrities like Toni Braxton, Sarah Michelle-Gellar and Cate Blanchett have been toting? The answer is Hanoior, to be precise, the Vietnamese capital’s Ipa-Nima boutique (ipa-nima.com). Founded in 1997 by a onetime lawyer, Hong Kong-born Christina Yu, Ipa-Nima had grand ambitions from the outset, exporting colorful, individually patterned handbags under its own label to stores like Henri Bendel and Barney’s in Manhattan, and Harvey Nichols in London. Although diehard fashionistas were quick to discover Ipa-Nima, it’s only in the past couple of seasons that the buzz has reached fever pitch, with celebrity endorsement setting the seal.

Despite her success, Yu has no plans to quit Vietnam for the bright lights of the world’s fashion capitals, preferring to supervise production in Hanoi. “I really wanted to show the local craftsmen that they could make something like a handbag into an exportable item,” she says. Breaking new ground is all in a day’s work for the girl from Ipa-Nima.