You may have heard of the famous mile-long waitlist to get your hands on the forever-classic Hermés Birkin bag. While this luxe tote comes with a price tag around the same amount as our college tuition, few bags have been able to command such a cult following – until now. Newcomer brand Mansur Gavriel’s bag lines are so popular they are flying off the virtual shelves, so to speak.
Never heard of the company? Here’s what they are all about: high-quality Italian leather handbags that come in basic shapes and colors that will quickly become your go-to carryall, for a price that won’t leave you eating ramen for months.
Founders and designers Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel met at an XX concert in Los Angles back in 2011. After soon realizing they both wanted the same things out of their handbags, the two went into business together.
“We really admire clean, painted edges, beautiful stitching, snaps. We also really admire Italian leather, so we wanted something strong and beautiful, classic and elegant, and we felt we couldn’t find that for under $2,000 or even $1,500,” Mansur told The Cut in an interview.
The two women sourced out a company in Italy that would be able to do the level of crafting they desired, and after two years of development two styles had emerged: on drawstring bucket and one top-handle horizontal tote.
After months of working with stores they carefully selected and ruthlessly sought after to carry their line, the collection debuted in June 2013. Just weeks after the launch, blogger Garance Doré announced her deep obsession with her Mansur Gavriel black bucket bag with a red (the company calls the shade “Flamma”) lining inside. By July, there were long waitlists for both products. Then when New York Fashion Week came around that September, every A-list blogger and celebrity had one of Mansur Gavriel’s clean-cut handbags hanging on their shoulder. From then on, the frenzy began.
By just their third season, the company had crossed over into profitability, something that is nearly impossible to do in the ever-changing fashion world. Each time the company restocks their website shop or sends out shipments to stores and suppliers, the bags are usually handed straight to the lucky few at the top of the ever growing waitlist, never even making it on to the shelves.
After being completely sold out since their January 2015 restock, the company replenished their site again last week. With the homepage of the site being shut down for the few days leading up to the relaunch, fans everywhere were frantically refreshing the page to see when the products would drop. When they did, they disappeared in 5 minutes.
The brand’s success is unheard of in today’s fashion industry. They are certainly one to watch as they continue to make the classic bags they are known for at a price one cannot resist.
