Mansur Gavriel’s Bags Aren’t Selling Out for the Reason You Think
Models pose at Mansur Gavriel’s spring 2016 presentation. Photo: Instagram/@yahoostyle.
Mansur Gavriel is currently known for two things: Making clean, minimal leather backpacks and bucket bags that have fast became a fashion-girl favorite — and for having said bags inspire such devotion, new shipments of product routinely sell out in 5 minutes online (that’s no exaggeration). In fact, when I told friends I was going to interview the designers behind the brand, they all said the same thing: “Ask them why we can’t buy their bags!”
People who’ve tried and failed to buy their dream bag often wonder if supply is artificially limited to create a buzz or maintain the brand’s exclusivity. But speaking with Floriana Gavriel and Rachel Mansur tonight, they assured me that couldn’t be further from the truth:
“Growing production is not an easy task,” Gavriel said, “so we’re doing it, but very carefully.”
“We’ve grown so much as a brand,” Mansur added, “but we still produce in Italy with high-quality materials, working closely with our factories. We’re making a great effort to keep it under control, and not make the mistake some brands do where they grow so fast that quality suffers. We want things to stay sane and to be proud of what we put out there.”
The brand’s new shoe line comes in just two heel heights: flat, and a completely walkable, 2-inch block. Photo: Instagram/@bethiegirmai.
Part of that growth is adding new shapes to their existing stable of buckets and backpacks. At the brand’s presentation at New York Fashion Week tonight, we saw a new line of roomy foldover clutches, a trapezoid-shaped handbag they’re calling the “Volume Clutch,” leather circle bags, and — maybe most exciting — their debut shoe collection consisting of flat or low-heeled slides dyed to match their vegetable-tanned leather bags.
“We liked the idea of adding a circle to the family. It’s nostalgic, but still feels fresh, clean, and contemporary,” Mansur said. And, before you get too excited, they tell us the giant circle bag shown up top is for this presentation only, and won’t be for sale — although we won’t be surprised if someone tries to order it.
The model lineup at Mansur Gavriel spring 2016. Photo: Instagram/@r29fashion.
“We wanted to keep the bags interesting in a sculptural way, but make them a little more playful,” Gavriel added. The bags were charming, looking at once classic and contemporary, and we predict the shoes, with their easy, low-heeled elegance will be the brand’s next big seller.
At that moment, it was an hour into the presentation, and I informed the designers I’d already seen the circle bags all over Instagram, and they might have a hit on their hands. "Yeah?!” they said, seemingly in genuine amazement. “That would be amazing,” Gavriel said, “because to us, it’s beautiful, but we worry no one will buy them!”
Call us over-confident, but we’re not worried.
