Are you familiar with Mansur Gavriel? I have loved this brand since seeing their bags in 2016. I have met the founders at their Store in SoHo. I am here to tell you everything I know about it.
Yes, my friends know it. Mansur Gavriel is the brand of leather goods that started it all for me. My first made in Italy, not from a fast fashion brand bag. I babied that Mini Bucket Bag for a good 6 months, until it became my every day and going on every trip bag. This post will tell you everything about Mansur Gavriel.
I want to talk to you about Mansur Gavriel,
this contemporary and affordable brand
that makes quality leather goods.
Who are Mansur and Gavriel?
Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel met at a Concert in Los Angeles in 2010. Mansur, who graduated from Rhode Island School of Design, had worked in a variety of jobs from art to film industry. Gavriel had interned in fashion houses in Europe while obtaining her fashion degree in Germany. They had many common interests and esthetics and soon after that they started designing bags with clean lines and natural textures in different colors. Mansur and Gavriel put their own savings to build the company, they both worked full time jobs while they launched Mansur Gavriel. If you ever wanted to support a woman owned business back in the 2010’s – this, was it.
History and Milestones
The brand starts with making only two designs; the Bucket Bag and the Tote Bag. Several combinations of bright interior and exterior colors were built, samples were made in several locations until they decided to stick with the Made in Italy version.
Launched in 2013 with overnight success, long waitlists, the bucket bag was the it bag especially in New York City. Between 2013 and 2017, you couldn’t ride the subway without seeing people carrying the Flamma Bucket Bag (the name given for the red interior and black exterior bucket bag). With a huge market gap for contemporary minimalistic brands, Mansur Gavriel found instant success. Clean esthetics and little hardware defined the brand. With a less hefty price tag of 450-700 USD, you could get a quality bag in a massive beautiful blush box, printed with minimalist esthetic to protect it. What’s not to love? The bags were and are still carried by many celebrities to this day. Who remembers when Jennifer Garner carried a camello/ azzurro tote bag with a sweater that matched the interior of the bag?
During the early 2010s, the brand was slow to restock, a lot of attention was paid to make sure the quality wasn’t compromised, but the demand was at a cult level. It is said that department stores made deposits to Mansur Gavriel in advance to help the company with manufacturing.
I was a little late on getting to know the brand. In 2016, I read the brand’s name in tiny letters at the bottom of the bucket bags after seeing them repeatedly in New York City, and traced down the website, then the store on Wooster Street in SoHo. That was my first acquaintance with the brand. My mother has many many color combinations sent to her phone before I settled on black/marine (light blue interior) and black/ ballerina (soft pink interior) vegetable leather in the mini size. I visited the store and could only get my hands on the black/ ballerina combination of the mini bucket bag, so that was it.
- In Spring 2016, the brand launched their first shoe collection. Suede platform mules to sandals in many colors that screamed retro-chic.
- They opened their first pop up store in the SoHo neighborhood in NYC on November 18 2016, initially planned to close in January 11 2017, but stayed open until the pandemic in 2020.
- Fall 2017, the Ready-to-Wear collection launched, making a big shift in the company.
- Spring 2018, Men’s leather goods collection launched ranging from briefcases to backpacks, with not much success.
More Recently
Many directors of sales and finance later, in 2019, the brand sold their majority stake on their first investment to a private equity firm. This made many in the fashion industry; consumers, retailers and investors on the lookout for an expansion of their line, including the possibility of going full on direct-to-consumer business with many more brick-and-mortar locations and perhaps more international this time. But that did not happen. Between 2018-2022 the brand was creating new models more than ever and the never heard of sales became the norm. Historically, random sample sales would happen online from third party companies. Likewise, Mansur Gavriel did not see a post-pandemic growth, unlike many of its competitors did.
The Present and Future
In 2023, the brand hired Maria Borromeo as CEO. It is said that the brand will reinstate some of its old values. Less products, less newness and more profitability – as a way to re-introduce the brand to the Gen-Z group.
During the New York Fashion Week in Fall 2023, Mansur Gavriel celebrated its 10-year anniversary with nothing new, only best sellers. They then launched those best sellers to their consumers on their website. Their Instagram account felt extremely nostalgic. The way I see this, it’s my only opportunity to re-purchase what I hadn’t several years ago. The leather goods loving junkie in me did not necessarily appreciate natural leathers that would show signs of wear and tear at the time. But I’m here for it. This is my second chance.
The only question now is, will Mansur Gavriel reach the level of fame it once did? Is the best work already done or will the brand put forth sought after leather goods. Nothing matched the success of the adored bucket bag. Perhaps, it was their iteration of the ballerina that came close – what a beauty.
The other concern is that, in 2013 Mansur Gavriel was filling an obvious contemporary, minimalistic yet affordable gap in the fashion industry. In 2023, there are more brands in the same price point and quality; Le Polène, A.P.C., and STAUD to name a few.
I personally cannot wait for what is to come for Mansur Gavriel. I clearly have a soft spot and a sense of nostalgia when it comes to their bags and shoes. Specifically, the bucket bag. I hope we will see more stores opening up soon to really help consumers visualize their collection. I know for me, the branch on Wooster Street in blush painted walls was my happy place. It is still marked on my google maps app, and I smile every time I walk by in SoHo.
This blog post was everything related to Mansur Gavriel, so you do not miss out on a contemporary, minimalistic, yet affordable luxury brand that produces quality leather goods.
As usual, thank you for stopping by.
See you next week,
Girl on the Upper East Side
If you enjoyed reading this post, you might reading about downsizing your closet.
[…] Mansur Gavriel […]