Dianne V, vegan handbag brand, rebuilds after Red Hook warehouse fire

RED HOOK — When the pandemic shut down live performance, Brooklyn Youth Chorus (BYC) Founder and Artistic Director Dianne Berkun found her busy schedule slowed down. In the free nights and weekends that followed, Berkun, a longtime resident of Brooklyn Heights, began to work on another creative project — designing handbags made from vegan leather.

Dianne V handbags (V for “vegan”) was launched. “The design and manufacturing process took over my home,” she recalled in a recent interview with the Brooklyn Eagle. “I needed another machine, and my family basically said no.”

In 2024, Berkun found an affordable studio in Red Hook to expand her business. She set up shop in a warehouse shared by hundreds of other artists, small businesses and the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC). 

In her studio, Berkun explored new materials, inspired by designers like Stella McCartney, which make luxury vegan products. Some of her bags are made of grape leather, a material created from the waste produced from the wine industry, like skin and seeds. The bags sell for a considerably more affordable price than Stella McCartney.

“Dianne V is an intentionally vegan brand, part of a growing movement toward next-generation materials that reduce the environmental impact of industrial animal products,” Berkun explained.“The collection uses a mix of plant-based textiles and advanced leather alternatives sourced exclusively from select Italian manufacturers whose materials exceed Europe’s rigorous environmental and safety standards.”

This past September, Berkun’s studio was destroyed in a five-alarm fire that tore through the Red Hook warehouse, destroying studios and artwork. For many artists, their entire life’s work was destroyed in the only studio they could afford in New York. 

The fire was contained to two of the building’s bays. Where the fire didn’t reach, the building and its art were impacted by massive water damage from over 200 firefighters’ hoses. This was the case for Berkun, whose entire handbag stock and materials were ruined in the all-night effort to stop the blaze.

In the more than six weeks it took some artists to be allowed back into their spaces, the water damage — “the equivalent of 10 continuous years of rainfall,” according to artist Justin Neely — bloomed into massive decay and mold growth. 

Berkun suffered over $50,000 of financial losses that she had to recoup out of pocket and with the help of family. She was quick to point out that her situation was different than that of many of the artists she worked alongside. “I have the patterns. I can remake the bags,” she explained. “They’re not irreplaceable like art.” 

Two months after the fire, Dianne V found a serendipitous new home in a shared studio with a high school friend and painter with whom Berkun recently re-connected. The DUMBO studio is airy and light-filled, Berkun said, but more expensive than her Red Hook studio. “I’m still not sure if I can stay there long-term,” she said. “I hope I can.”

The Brooklyn community has rallied around the Red Hook artists impacted by the fire, donating to GoFundMe campaigns and volunteering to clean up studios and salvage art when possible. Yet many of the impacted artists are only starting to rebuild. 

With these artists in mind, Berkun began planning BYC’s spring 2026 gala. The upcoming gala’s theme is “Brooklyn Stories” and will feature the work of fellow Red Hook artists impacted by the fire.

“By turning the gala venue into a gallery to support Red Hook artists who lost their studios and work in the fire, they will hopefully be able to get some attention and maybe sell some work,” Berkun said. 

In the meantime, Berkun has rebuilt the stock of Dianne V’s handbags. As of this month, her studio is open for visit by appointment, and she is selling handbags online and in boutiques in Brooklyn, the Catskills and the Hudson Valley.