After becoming the coveted handbag brand of 2015, Mansur Gavriel is all set to launch its newest collection. But while the solid tones, minimalist styles and effortless appeal echo the label’s previous designs, this new venture is all about footwear.
The New York City-based label was founded in 2012 by Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel, and since, has gained somewhat of a cult following of international fashion editors and style icons. Mansur Gavriel can likely be accredited for trendsetting the bucket bag — the brand's popular renditions in black and neutral tones have been known to sell out quickly after landing on shelves. Next month, the label is launching its first collection of shoes, set to debut on Net-a-porter two weeks before any other retailer gets its hands on them. Crafted from suede and tanned vegetable leathers, the shoes will be available in four styles with various heel heights, in six different colours.
“The collection is everything we have come to expect from their cool, simplistic and beautiful design aesthetic and firmly puts the mule back into the spotlight,” says Ida Petersson, senior buyer for shoes at Net-a-porter.
Interesting of note is the fact that after Mansur Gavriel's fashion week debut last September, where the shoes were first unveiled, the brand faced a lot of heat from fellow New York designer Maryam Nassir Zadeh, who claimed that the shoes were knock-offs of her own designs. Business of Fashion reported that it's unlikely that legal action will be pursued, since it will be difficult to prove trademark infringement. They are after all, plain leather mules, without anything as distinct as a red sole (a trademark that has been difficult for even Christian Louboutin to legally protect).
The shoes themselves aren’t extraordinary — but neither were the Chanel two-tone slingbacks that sold like hotcakes and became the must-have shoe of autumn/winter 2015, so it’s quite safe to expect that Mansur Gavriel’s collection of classic mules and slides will be just as much of a hit as the label’s handbag range was.
The collection will be available online at Net-a-porter next month, with prices starting at Dh1,414.
