DISCOVER MLOUYE
Recently, I was scrolling on Instagram and a video reel of the construction behind a canvas shell-shaped bag caught my attention. After quick investigation, I learned that the bag was the “Seashell Tote”, by Mlouye.
While I’ve never heard of the brand before, a quick scan of their instagram page revealed that mlouye has a following just short of 1M (814K), a physical store located in Milan (initially leading me to believe the brand was Italian), and was founded by Meb Seyman (linked in the brand’s instagram bio). A quick Google search revealed a 2021 Vogue Türkiye interview with the brand’s founder, who is also known professionally as Meb Rure. A second search of Meb Rure led to several high-profile articles, with the earliest dating back to 2017.
Seashell Tote by mlouye
Meb’s Instagram profile features posts dating back to 2015, where her initial photos were architecture and nature- focused, leading me to believe that Mlouye’s design aesthetic is heavily inspired by Meb herself.
Meb’s Instagram @meb.seyman
While it was the Seashell Tote that initially caught my eye, their earlier designs follow a sharp, geometric design that are also eye-catching and unique.
Meb’s Instagram @meb.seyman
After heading over to Mlouye’s website, I learned that Meb’s background is in industrial design and that she is heavily inspired by architecture and the Bauhaus Movement. A key statement on the brand’s “about us” page was: “Innovation being the key factor alongside aesthetic, Mlouye has brought unexpected shapes with smart details, functionality and a new luxury feel with a contemporary price point.”
A 2019 article by Coveteur offered some additional insight into Meb’s past:
“Following her graduation from the Industrial Design Department of METU in Turkey in 2010, she designed furniture, originally diverting away from the fashion industry. “Growing up, my mother was a tailor, and I was surrounded by fashion and tailoring magazines,” the Istanbul-born designer explains. “I tried to carry my interest for fashion throughout college, [but] in design I studied how all things should have a reason based on real needs, and fashion didn’t fit this.” It wasn’t until 2015, while working on a laptop bag project, that Rure pivoted her focus. “All I kept thinking was, Why does this bag have to be ugly to fulfill a function? I decided to switch gears from furniture design to small-scaled objects like handbags, which people can wear and carry with them all the time. I believed that I could make a difference, and that is how Mlouye came to be.”
Based on their website, there are two B+M stores (Istanbul and Milan), but with operations based in Turkey and the U.S., I predict a New York City or Los Angeles store in the works.
