Mansur Gavriel to launch debut Ready-to-Wear collection at New York Fashion Week

London - Mansur Gavriel is getting ready to take the next step in its brand evolution, as the cult accessories label is set to unveil its debut ready-to-wear collection for Autumn/Winter 2017 at New York Fashion Week this September.

The co-founders of the highly popular it-bucket bag, Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel, revealed to Business of Fashion that they aim to launch their Autumn/Winter 2017 collection in season and are moving their presentation model forward. The move comes not long after the accessories brand launched its debut footwear collection. "Creatively, we were always ready," said Mansur on expanding the brand's offering to BoF. "We had such fast growth with the bags that we felt that we needed to be operationally prepared. Now the time is right."

Mansur added that their decision to closer align the collection presentation and drop in store was linked to the rise of social media. "It also feels much more exciting creatively to share the collection at the same time that it will be offered to the public." Prior to the launch of their debut ready-to-wear collection, Mansur and Gavriel expanded their current team to 30, taking on designers for the first time at the end of 2016 and strengthening their operational and manufacturing teams.

"It’s definitely a challenge to go from being just the two of us deciding everything very quickly and intuitively to learning how each department actually functions and how to still be very efficient and quick with our day-to-day decisions," explained Gavriel. "We are hiring very specialised people for each department and are overseeing them and learning from their knowledge as well."

The brand also aims to extend its lease on its temporary store in Soho, New York, where it opened a pop-up store last November. Running a pop-up store gave the brand the freecom to present its products together in one space which reflects the brand's values. "I think it really gives a glimpse of how we hope to grow in the future," added Mansur. Next month the brand aims to create a unique installation in the retail space for their Spring/Summer 2017 colletion.

The duo, who have self-funded their brand's ongoing growth stressed that they are still not looking got external investment to help fuel their expansion and prefer to oversee Mansur Gavriel growth themselves.

Photo: Mansur Gavriel NYC Pop-Up, from Mansur Gavriel Facebook page