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So who’s behind this Parisian brand that’s taking the world by storm and what’s its next move going to be? Read on to find out about its new Tokyo boutique, jewellery and shoe lines, and much more.
Polène was started by three siblings in Paris
It all started with a visit to a Spanish Hermès workshop in 2014, according to Antoine Mothay, who decided – along with big brother Mathieu and younger sister Elsa – that it was time they launched their own brand.
“I stood for two or three hours in front of an artisan explaining all the details about what it takes to have the perfect bag,” he told Fashionista.
Inspired by what he saw, he then carried out almost a year and a half of research, spending several months in eastern Europe and Portugal, and a whole year in Spain, per the same source. The entire project was built painstakingly from scratch. Even more impressive is the trio’s age. The eldest among them, Mathieu, is not yet 40.
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After 25 different prototypes, the family had their first bag – simply called Numéro Un – which remains one of the brand’s bestsellers. With its distinctive shape and blended curves, it’s the perfect combination of structure and softness, statement and subtlety.
Their great grandfather is a fashion legend too
Entrepreneurial spirit and savoir faire runs in the Mothays’ veins. Their great-grandfather Léon Legallais launched the brand Saint James, which created the iconic Breton-stripe shirt, per Forbes.
Beloved by everyone from Picasso and Coco Chanel to Audrey Hepburn and Kurt Cobain, as stated by Afar, it’s an impressive legacy that continues to live on today.
“Beginning with my great-grandfather, it is a family tradition to produce high-quality pieces that age well,” Mathieu told Afar magazine.
Antoine agrees that the three were certainly not totally clueless when it came to creating superlative pieces: “[Saint James’] products are very high quality. I think that gave us a taste of what good products should be,” he told Fashionista.
Polène is inspired by nature and is environmentally friendly
The brand is named after the family’s country house in Normandy, according to an interview Mathieu did with The Wall Street Journal in 2019. And a down-to-earth, natural feel runs through every product Polène creates. Crafted in soft, monochrome colours like cream, mocha or mushroom, each bag has impressive environmental credentials too.
With leather sourced exclusively from Spanish and Italian tanneries that have been certified by the international Leather Working Group, buyers can rest assured their bag hasn’t done additional harm to the environment via chemical pollution or to the health of the artisans making them, as per Fashionista.
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Polène even takes its unused materials to create a collection of bag charms and key rings made entirely of upcycled leather offcuts, according to its website. It’s all pretty impressive for a fledgling brand with surprisingly reasonable prices.
Celebrity fans
So what of the bags themselves? For starters, it’s clear that the Princess of Wales, aka Kate Middleton, is a fan, having been pictured with a navy blue version of Polène’s Numéro Sept bag for a royal engagement in May last year, and then on several occasions since.Eagle-eyed fans were also quick to spot two of the bags in episodes of Emily in Paris: the Numéro Huit bucket bag in mint green in the second season, and the cute rattan and leather Yké bag in season three.They only have three boutiques worldwide
Thanks to the brand’s quiet luxury credentials, unique designs and no doubt its affordability, FashionTok has duly gone crazy for Polène bags. And the appetite for them doesn’t seem to be letting up.Opening its first store in Paris in 2020, then another on New York’s Broadway in 2022, Polène’s most recent opening in Tokyo’s stylish Omotesando district has given Asia-based fashionistas reason to hope it will come to their city next.
The gorgeous boutique – which boasts organic, earthy interiors by Valériane Lazard and furniture by Kyoto collective Makino Urushi – offers a nod to Japan while still being undeniably French. Harper’s Bazaar reported that a Taiwan boutique could be next – watch this space.
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New accessories in the pipeline
Polène has already begun to venture into jewellery, with several gorgeous, nature-inspired pieces that possess all the structural excellence and quality of their handbags – see the Éole cuff or Eroz ring – already online.
But those in the know are most excited about the arrival of the brand’s shoe line, as reported on the Fashion Network and Harper’s Bazaar. For those already in love with Polène and its ethos, the prospect of more accessories being created by the Mothays and their hard-won network of artisans is a tantalising one indeed.
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