Each month ELLE UK puts a spotlight on small fashion brands. This month, we speak to London-based Melissa Morris, founder of Métier.
A lot has changed since Melissa Morris launched Métier in 2017. But the concept upon which the Philadelphia-born, London-based designer founded her brand is more relevant than ever.
‘I wanted to create pieces that allow us to enjoy the benefits of a world where anything can happen,’ she says, which simply means maximising the functionality of one of the items we rely on most: our handbags.
Today, with so many of us dividing our time between working in offices and working remotely, there’s a growing need for the ‘do it all’ bag, large enough to fit notebooks, tech and the kitchen sink – all while remaining stylish.
Morris, who studied sculpture and business at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, before embarking on a career working for major fashion brands – Armani, Helmut Lang and Belstaff – recognised that need as a woman living the fast-paced city life.
‘The number of times I’d get public transport, late for the train, while I can’t find my card, having to rummage through this bottomless pit…’ she laughs. ‘The way we were living then wasn’t really being addressed by the luxury market.’
What was missing was a stylish ‘one bag fits all’ that would also negate the need for the overspill ‘second bag’ we all know well. Métier’s bag styles – from travel-ready totes to suede shoulder bags – are sculptural in a way that is modern but timeless. They’re classically crafted too, with the designer’s decision to launch in London and open the brand’s Mayfair flagship based on its proximity to the world’s finest factories in Italy, where Métier’s bags are made.
Shop Métier Now
Métier Private Eye Bag
Métier Market Weekend Bag
Métier Perriand City Small
Métier Roma Shoulder Bag
The functional styles clearly appeal, as Morris was the recipient of 2020’s BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, and is launching sleek home storage solutions, including a cabinet coming in November. Métier has a string of high-profile fans too, including Katie Holmes and Kate Moss, with the Roma style making a guest appearance on the arm of Nicole Kidman in The Undoing. ‘She’s a super smart, beautiful woman,’ says Morris of Kidman. So, unsurprisingly, she looks very at home carrying a Métier.
This article appears in the October 2021 edition of ELLE UK.
