SOF Scoop: the Mackage X PurseBlog Nomad Bag

 image via PurseBlog.com

I attended the unveiling of the Nomad bag, the collaboration of Mackage and PurseBlog founder Meghan Mahoney Dusil. I knew it would be really good before I even saw it, because hello – Mackage makes the most beautiful outerwear ever, with insane tailoring and the highest quality and a fashion-forward aesthetic that’s on-trend yet timeless. And PurseBlog is the definitive source of news, info, inspiration and the overall scoop in handbags. So, how could this collab be anything but supremely glorious? The expertise, the style sense, the artful flair, the impeccable eye for detail…every part of the equation is there and then some. I loved the bag immediately, it has that clean, minimalist look of the It bags of the day – Proenza, Reed Krakoff, etc. – but is so distinctively its own, so understated yet pow! When I picked it up, I realized it zips into three sections – I mean, this is kind of the only bag you’d ever need. It fits so much more than it looks like it does, so it appears so neat and compact but inside is storing and organizing your entire (admit it: messy) life. Carry it over your shoulder by day, zip off the clutch compartment for a sleek after-dark accessory – this thing is genius. So I geeked out and talked to both the Mackage designers, Elisa Dahan and Eran Elfassy, and PurseBlog’s Dusil to get their take on the collab.

SOF: What was the inspiration behind the collaboration?

Mackage:

Elisa Dahan: We are big fans of PurseBlog and she's a really big fan of the line, so we felt it was a great marriage. We really clicked, there was great chemistry.

Eran Elfassy: We wanted someone who knows every bag, who's seen every bag, and she was the perfect person.

ED: She understands the DNA of the brand, so it made sense. She really gets who we are. And we decided to approach the challenge of designing a bag that can do everything. It was a brainstorming process.

EE: We were talking about how much we travel, and how it's hard to have so many bags with you, so we wanted to have one bag that you could do for the day, and then have for the night

ED: It fits a lot more than you think it could fit! I keep putting things in there! It's not that big, but it fits so much - it's very versatile.

SOF: Any other collaborations in the works - has this inspired you to do more?

Mackage: 

ED: It's always fun to do these collaborations, but it's going to be hard to top this! We always have a lot of things in the works, but this collaboration was so perfect - we both love dessert and french fries, they're our favorite things! Our meetings always end with dessert.

 with Meghan Mahoney Dusil and her Nomad bag

SOF: So tell us about how you came into this collaboration.

Meghan Mahoney Dusil: I already knew and loved their outerwear and I loved that they were going to be making bags, it's something that I think so many brands try to do but they don't do as well, and I was really excited to see what they came up with because I love their attention to detail when it comes to outerwear. When I saw the prototypes of the bags, I just thought they were so beautiful, and they asked if I wanted to collaborate. So I went to Montreal, which is where they're based. I wanted the idea of a bag that could transition really easily, because of our lifestyle in New York, and really any woman's lifestyle anywhere, I mean we're all so busy now. That's the idea of an everyday bag that you could carry a bunch of different ways, and they had said it can be hard to actually make that work. But we went back and forth, and Elisa and Eran really came together. 
I've been carrying it for like a month and a half, and I wanted something that I could carry during the day and then take off and use during the night and I still carry everything I need and want. It's so compact but still fits everything I need, for work and for day and for night.

SOF: Do you think you'd like to do more collaborations in the future?

MMD: I would love to, it was a learning experience for me. It was the first collaboration for me, we've done some really cool things where our forum has worked with designers, but I had never done it myself, and there's so much more that goes into it than I thought. We had to be very hands-on, it wasn't just a one-time thing that we just talked about, we were there picking out zippers and leathers and everything. So, I would love to collaborate again, but I feel like there's so much more there to learn, maybe from a consumer's standpoint as opposed to the designer's standpoint.

Handbags and Hugs,

Astor