Let’s face it, the “It” bag of the season is usually one with with an easily recognizable luxury label. For some it is the very definition of luxury to own THE hard-to-find handbag from one of the big fashion labels…Fendi, Givenchy, Gucci, Prada. This year’s bag of the season is from a brand that has been flying under the radar… Mansur Gavriel.
Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel, are two friends who met in 2010 at a concert in Los Angeles. The rest is history.
From Booth Moore of the LA TIMES:
“Nevermind the Fendi 2Jours, Givenchy Antigona and Saint Laurent Sac de Jour. One of the fall season’s hardest-to-get-your-hands-on handbags tops out at less than four figures. Much less.
With sleek bucket bags, totes and backpacks priced from $460 to $950, Mansur Gavriel is targeting women who want low-key luxe and value without overt logos or labeling. And it’s working.
Since launching in April 2012, the anti-It bags have spawned waiting lists, sold out notifications and insane eBay markups.
The brand was founded by Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel, two friends who met in 2010 at an XX concert at the Wiltern in Los Angeles.
“I had never owned a designer bag,” says Mansur. “Even as a young teenager, I wondered why there wasn’t a bag for me that I wouldn’t be embarrassed of because I spent $1,000 or $2,000 on it.”
Both women had backgrounds in design. Gavriel had worked as a designer for Lanvin in Paris. And Mansur studied textile design at Rhode Island School of Design before starting work at an Internet startup in L.A. They bonded over an early morning trip to the Flower Mart in downtown L.A.
“We just clicked, we had something aesthetically in common,” says Gavriel during a recent visit to the label’s showroom.
Soon, a business idea was hatched….”
Read the complete article here: LA TIMES: “Mansur Gavriel Finds Success with Stealth Luxe.” by Booth Moore.
Mansur Gavriel at www.mansurgavriel.com
