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Handbag designers, get your creative juices flowing! Handbag Designer 101 and InStyle have teamed up for the 6th Annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards, and undiscovered designers have until April 28th to compete for one of seven different awards. Categories include Best Handmade Bag and Most Socially Responsible Bag. Also, a special Fan Favorite category will be voted on by the readers of InStyle.com, and the Best Overall Style & Design winner will have the opportunity to design a capsule collection with Kenneth Cole. Get your applications in at handbagdesigner101.com. 

See last year’s winners in the gallery!

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• 2011 List of IHDA Finalists
• Kate Spade’s Winning IHDA Bag
• Cat Deeley’s IDHA Bag

The winners of the 2011 Independent Handbag Designer Awards have been announced! Last night, InStyle and Handbag Designer 101 hosted the fifth annual ceremony in New York, and designers from all over the world accepted awards in nine different categories. One of the most exciting announcements: The Audience Fan Favorite Award because it was voted on by you, InStyle.com readers! And after more than 334,500 votes, the winner is… Neide Ambrosio Martins de Souza! The bag featured over 1,000 recycled pop tabs, and the 69-year-old designer flew in from Brazil for the event.  ”I’m truly happy,” she said when accepting her award. “I feel like I just won an Oscar!” (Her bag also won the Most Socially Responsible award.) Click “See the Photos” for all the winners!

Up-and-coming handbag designers from around the globe submitted their most fabulous creations to InStyle‘s 5th Annual Independent Handbag Designer Awards, but only 40 made the cut! Winners will be announced on June 15th at a star-studded ceremony hosted by InStyle and Handbag Designer 101. Some of the prizes include the opportunity to create a capsule collection for Saks Fifth Avenue, a guest design stint with Isabella Fiore, a design sponsorship by Swarovski, and more! One lucky designer will also be honored as the Audience Fan Favorite—and that’s where you come in. Click “See the Photos” to see all the finalists’ bags, then vote for your favorite to win the Audience Fan Favorite Award at instyle.com/ihdapoll. Who do you think should win? Vote now!