Wine bags receive fashion makeover

A red wine-soaked outfit has led one woman in the US to create a wine carrier which transforms into a handbag.

After dropping a bottle during a night out, designer and “wine-loving fashionista” Niki Pfeiffer created the “Wine Gabby” as a “stylish solution for carrying wine.”

Once the wine bottle carrier is no longer needed for its original purpose, it can be folded into a compact handbag, combining fashion and functionality with the further environmental advantage that the product is more likely to be re-used than a cardboard or plastic bag.

Pfeiffer has since pitched the design on ABC show Shark Tank (similar to the UK’s Dragons’ Den), which sees entrepreneurs try to win backing from a panel of potential investors.

Explaining the choice of name, she told the drinks business: “I came up with the name because wine makes me really ‘gabby’, but also because I was a big fan of Eva Longoria’s Gabby character on the TV show Desperate Housewives and she always had a glass of wine in her hand and looked fabulous

“I wanted the Wine Gabby to capture that fashionable attitude so Gabby just seemed to be a perfect fit!”

Available in a range of colours, the $39 Wine Gabby is still seeking retailer distribution, but for the moment can be purchased online via the company’s website.