The work of Mariela Gemisheva as a fashion designer and someone directly involved with all aspects of fashion naturally connects her with various specialists, including hairdressers. Styling, shaping, and completely transforming the hairstyles of models before fashion shows or for photo shoots often generates a significant amount of waste material—human hair. The quantities collected are often so large that some hairdressers have claimed the hair is used for creating various reinforcements in construction. This prompted the artist to ask herself the question: what can be done with this material?
The initial idea that emerged was to create accessories from hair. However, Mariela Gemisheva later decides to "equip" her vintage leather handbag by sewing a horse mane onto it. This often provoked surprise and even aversion in some people. Thus, in 2008, the handbag was transformed from an accessory into an art object—the Vagina bag. This work has been exhibited in various shows, including "My Favorite Boudoir" (2010) at Sariev Gallery and "Notes and Footnotes" (2019), Open Art Files, Kapana Gallery, Plovdiv, curated by Vera Mlechevska.
The bag’s red lining (bearing the inscription Design by Mariela Gemisheva) sharply contrasts, yet simultaneously complements, its kitschy pink ribbon-handle, evoking one of the most iconic color combinations in fashion (red and pink). The gaping Vagina bag is filled with yellow coins, thus sparking numerous visible and invisible associations. To put it bluntly, a vagina can generate income. This concept is further exemplified by the award Mariela Gemisheva received at the exhibition "Assembly of Shame" (2023), held at Doza Gallery, where the handbag was displayed overflowing with stacks of cash.
