Merve & Beste Manastır
It’s time to break the perception of ‘this can’t be Turkish.’ Like we mentioned in our previous issue, all the work being produced in Turkey is always sentenced behind tightly closed doors, while they get a lot of recognition abroad. Then one comes across another Turkish product and finds themselves chasing after it on Net-a- Porter… Two sisters have been carrying all our names to hangers around the world by their creative instincts, it’s time for a standing ovation.
Handbags hold a lot of personal objects for women, and sometimes even for other people around them. To be honest, this requires a feeling of trust. As a designer, what are the features you’re looking for in this accessory?
It’s very important for a bag to have an aesthetic and to be comfortable. The bag has to be an accessory that is easily accessible to find what one is looking for, along with being an attractive item that one wants to carry around in this busy metropolitan life. High quality is of course required to be able to harmonize all these features; for a good design to turn into something real and to transcend design for the client, durability and usability is essential.
It’s every brand’s dream to be a world-wide name. Could you tell us about the process of the realization of your dreams?
This mission has always been more important than designing for us. It’s been a huge responsibility and advantage having our father as a mentor who has dedicated himself passionately to his work as a craftsmanship for 55 years. We got an e-mail on May 2015 from an e-commerce website that was based in England regarding a collaboration with Manu Atelier. Right after we sent out the samples, they wrote to us saying they were amazed by the design and quality of production and workmanship, and they wanted to visit our showroom. We hosted them in our atelier. When they arrived our father was cutting leather and they were incredibly impressed to see that each piece was cut by hand. Our global sales have started as a result of this process. Around that time an article was published titled “The Ultimate Anti-It Bag” title on Vogue UK. While we were planning on making our debut with the Pre-Fall collection in January 2016, we went to Paris in a hurry in October due to high demand to present our SS16 collection. We started our global sales by having receiving orders on Selfridges, stylebop.com, Shop at Bluebird and other concept stores. More stores such as Harrods, Net-a-Porter, Harvey Nichols Kuwait, Plus One China have been added to our current store list of our Pre Fall and Main 16 collection.
The purse was the most tangible form of our childhood for us as the admiration of our father and his craftsmanship.
Your love for leather must have must have been hugely influenced by your family’s leather workmanship…
Absolutely. It’s our point of origin, the reason why we started this company. We grew up in the atelier. His craftsmanship was way beyond ‘’a job’’ for our father. He used to go to the atelier, cut leathers and make models even on Sundays. Our childhood consisted of assembling leather pieces that were left around the atelier and making miniature purses. The purse was the most tangible form of our childhood for us as the admiration of our father and his craftsmanship. That scent of leather which connects the old and the new, a father who has fallen in love with this craft by learning it from German and Greek masters at the age of 11, the little back bags and belt bags that he made for us by hand when we were little, the balcony in our oldest atelier in the office block in front of Galatasaray High School from which we were able to see Istiklal Sq. and Beyoğlu, our admiration of history and craftsmanship… These were and will always be in our hearts and minds while we make plans for our brand.
It’s hard for friends to work together, how is it for sisters ?
We can turn situations that look like disadvantages into advantages because we have similar tastes but different characteristics. We always find a middle ground even when we’re totally on opposite ends, and we think we get much better results due to this. It’s really diferent to have the sincerity that comes from knowing that you have a sibling with you.
Being “unattainable” is very popular in fashion these days. How is your strategy concerning your brand ?
Being reachable is definitely very important for brand strategy both in a negative and positive way. What distinguishes your brand is how you position it, and where and which brands you want to see it next to. We have made our strategy accordingly. But sometimes things can evolve out of your control, we faced that situation. We have been working with Vakko exclusively for 2 years in Turkey. Our products have been sold out since the first season we started and this situation creates an ‘unattainable’ perception in our consumer’s minds. During the last 7-8 months, our online sale stocks have been running out immediately once we update them. The clients create accessability as much as the brand owners these days.
How does it feel to see your purse come up from under a table in the hands of a woman in a restaurant ?
It’s exciting and makes us feel proud at the same time. Up to this day, we’ve always encountered women that inspired us taking their bags from under the table they were dining at which made us very happy. We always had a strong woman carrying our brand in our minds, and it’s nice to see it becoming a reality.
Could you tell us about your creation process ?
You’re actually in that process at all times. Your senses are always alert which is how you feed your refference points continually. Our inspiration mainly comes from women. We feed off of seeing them walking down the street, sitting in a cafe or a restaurant, laughing, crying, from they way their hair looks, their movement, from the music they listen to, the way they dance, and so on.
Fotoğraf / Photography: Hikmet Güler