‘We love natural beauty, it runs in all that we do’
First it was bucket bags, then shoes, now Mansur Gavriel debuts its first ready-to-wear collection
If, over the past few years, you have purchased a bucket bag, a streamlined tote or considered a foray into millennial pink (that’s the grown-up new name for baby pink or if you speak Farrow & Ball, “Nancy’s Blushes”) then you too have fallen under the spell of Mansur Gavriel.
Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel evoked a frenzied response when they introduced their first collection of handbags back in 2013, with styles selling out within minutes of being posted on their website. In glossy, vegetable-tanned leathers, they were distinctive but with a simplicity and insider cachet that gave them the mileage to go beyond being oneseason wonders. Then there were the prices, starting from £245. Not cheap, but realistic for items with longevity.
In fact, since then the duo have methodically introduced more colours and designs to their collection; shoes arrived in 2015 and on Sunday at New York Fashion Week, the duo showed ready-to-wear for the first time. Savvily, this see-now, buy-now collection is full of answers to all those “which winter coat should I buy?” and
‘It’s about coming up with the shapes that we find beautiful’
“what should I buy to get me through the autumn to winter transition?” conundrums that vex us at this time of year.
Speaking to Mansur, 33, and Gavriel, 34, can feel more like discussing a scientific research project than a fashion label, such is their measured and meticulous approach. Where many creatives might be effusive and expressive, they are as considered and exacting as their designs. “We work very conceptually,” explains Mansur. “We like the idea of a shape in multiple colours and materials and we like repetition. It’s about coming up with the shapes that we find beautiful and then thinking of how that fits into our world.”
Conceptual it might be, but Mansur Gavriel’s clever pick-and-mix formula for timeless, chic clothes feels quite delicious. How about pairing a crimson short-sleeved sweater with acid yellow cigarette trousers, for example? Or layering a baby blue
opera coat over a cashmere sweater in that aforementioned millennial pink hue? (They have used it extensively on their products but also throughout their shop, on their website and floor-to-ceiling in this weekend’s show space). They call their off-kilter colour combinations, which have long been a signature of theirs, “emotional”.
“We love clean, neutral, warm colours but then there are the contrasts with brighter colours and softer, more subtle shades,” Gavriel says of their oatmeal-meets-ochre philosophy.
This first foray into clothes concentrates on woollen fabrics, leaving them space to explore, say, silk or cotton at a later date. “Material quality is the most important thing,” says Mansur.
“It felt natural to work in cashmere and mohair because these materials define modern luxury to us.”
Gavriel points to the oversized coat, a relaxed double-breasted cocoon-cut style with elongated lapels which would be a certain contender for anyone wanting just one, do-it-all cover-up.
“Personally, I love the feeling of wearing something which feels great on the skin, that has a nice volume and that you feel cosy and comfortable in,” says Gavriel.
Mansur and Gavriel – who both studied fashion – met at a concert in LA in 2010, quickly striking up a creative partnership that was long distance at first, as Gavriel was living in Berlin. They soon resolved to begin their label together and worked from their apartment in New York for the first year. Now they employ 30 people at their studio in Manhattan’s Tribeca district.
With the introduction of clothes, they now cover all the major wardrobe touch points with a look that is distinctive but which also doesn’t feel polarising – their designs would look elegant on a woman of any age. “We love natural beauty and that runs through everything we do, but that’s it,” says Gavriel when asked if they have any particular ideas about who they are designing for.
It’s a statement as refreshing as the purist zing of their products.