Raul Lopez Designed The Cadbury Clutch To Prove Generosity Is Cool

A clutch is not, traditionally speaking, an accessory designed for generosity. Its appeal rests partly in its limitations: It holds only the essentials, occupies one hand, and offers barely enough room for its owner’s belongings, let alone something for everybody else. But when LUAR founder and creative director Raul Lopez began designing the Cadbury Clutch, he saw an opportunity to give the going-out bag a more generous purpose.

The result is an insulated, hand-beaded clutch made to carry Cadbury chocolate — and to make sharing it feel as chic as the bag itself. Covered in purple crystals and finished with a gold border, the piece brings Cadbury’s signature palette into Lopez’s high-glamour world without resembling a conventional cooler. That distinction was important to the designer.

“When I made the Cadbury Clutch, I wanted it to feel chic and fab and not so gimmicky, like your typical insulated bag,” Lopez tells Bustle. “I wanted to make something that can feel elevated, like you can actually wear it to dinner, on a night out, or to work.”

The bag’s versatility reflects Lopez’s broader approach to design. Born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, the Dominican American designer creates for people who want to be noticed — and feel entirely like themselves while doing it. “I like to design for people who want to feel powerful,” he says. “When you walk into a room, you command all eyes and feel like the sun walking into a room full of snow. Everyone just kind of melts.”

That doesn’t mean every design has to be extravagant. Lopez had been wanting to create a clutch because of the ease with which it can transform an outfit. In his view, a pair of jeans, a tank top, and the right bag are enough to look fully dressed. For the Cadbury Clutch, he wanted a classic silhouette that someone could wear anywhere, then elevated it with all-over crystals and rich jewel tones — a palette he has been drawn to for the past couple of years.

The final design pairs a purple exterior with gold trim and a silver insulated lining. The front flap alone took approximately seven or eight hours to stone by hand, Lopez says. Rather than using a faster application method, he worked with an artisan experienced in hand-beading pieces for major runway shows. The labor was central to making the clutch feel like a specialty piece instead of a novelty.

Then came the challenge of the development phase: testing whether it could actually keep chocolate from melting during a New York summer. After working with an unfamiliar insulation material, Lopez’s team concealed the functional layer so it would read as a sleek silver lining. The team took it for a test run by filling the clutch with Cadbury chocolate and walking several blocks with it in the heat. It worked.

“How crazy is it that you are carrying a clutch, but it’s actually an insulated clutch?” Lopez says. “You can open your bag and have your Cadbury chocolate there to share with friends, and it’s not going to melt.”

For Lopez, working with Cadbury also had an emotional logic. He remembers the chocolate as part of everyday life with his family, whether it appeared during the holidays or simply came home in his mother’s shopping bags. “When Cadbury came to me, I was really excited,” he says. “I grew up eating it, and I felt like it was the perfect fit. The colors are really beautiful, and I loved how we could play with them and make them feel super contemporary.”

His mother influenced the clutch in another way. Lopez remembers her dressing up even when there was no special occasion, often carrying bags with similarly classic appeal. He wanted his design to recall the glamour of her wardrobe while bringing it into a more contemporary context. It continues a tradition within LUAR of honoring the people closest to him through his accessories: The brand’s Ana bag, for instance, is named for the women in his family called Ana, including his mother, grandmothers, and sister, and Lopez has also named shoes and other bags for friends and family.

That instinct to recognize others extends beyond naming pieces. Lopez describes family, friends, and chosen family as the forces that “carve who you really are,” and he has built LUAR around the idea that everyone is welcome, regardless of social class, as long as there is mutual respect.

It also informs how he supports younger creatives. Lopez says aspiring photographers and stylists regularly approach him for advice or ask to borrow pieces from LUAR. His answer is often simple: “The closet’s yours. Just go and pull whatever you want.”

In an industry still shaped by exclusivity and gatekeeping, he views access to time, knowledge, and opportunity as meaningful forms of giving. “Generosity doesn’t always have to be money,” Lopez says. “It’s your time, your knowledge, your wisdom. To me, that is more special and more powerful.”

It’s also personal. Lopez says he wishes he had been given more guidance — a clearer blueprint — as he built his own career. Now, he mentors emerging creatives across disciplines, offering both advice and the occasional dose of tough love. The role has earned him a nickname: Granny.

“It’s not so much the age,” he says. “I think it’s more of the wisdom part and, again, being generous with who you are and what you can offer.”

That philosophy turns the Cadbury Clutch’s insulation from a clever design detail into the point of the piece. Whether its wearer is waiting in line during fashion week, sitting at dinner, or walking through New York with friends, they can always be ready to share a treat with someone. It’s a small gesture, but Lopez believes small gestures can create real connection — and inspire another person to pay the generosity forward.

“The Cadbury Clutch is more than just a bag,” he says. “It’s a form of connection and a form of generosity, where you can open your bag and share something special with someone.”

In other words, the season’s coolest clutch makes its strongest statement when it’s opened and shared.