Lancel

Lancel is a luxury leather goods brand from Paris, France. It was founded by Angèle & Alphonse Lancel in 1876. It mainly operates handbags, travel bags, small leather goods, accessories and other product lines. The Lancel brand is well-known for its bucket bags, and its classic series include the Elsa series and Premier Flirt series .

· Brand History ·

The Lancel brand was born in Paris , France in 1876. The founders were Angèle & Alphonse Lancel . They initially opened a store specializing in selling pipes and other smoking utensils. By the end of the 1880s, cigarettes gradually became popular, especially among women, which gave the Lancels a new idea - to provide women with cigarette cases and handbags to hold cigarette cases .

Lancel gradually expanded its business scope to gifts, jewelry, decorations and various leather goods, and in 1900 designed a "Sac à Malice" handbag with multiple hidden pockets , thus entering the women's handbag industry. After the Lancels' son Albert inherited the company, he officially made handbags the core of the company's product strategy.

The birth of the "bucket bag" is an important turning point for the Lancel brand. It was first conceived in 1927 and has now become a representative product of the brand. In the late 1920s, Lancel also launched the Aviona suitcase for air travel and the Parapluie handbag equipped with a makeup mirror . As the business grew, Lancel opened its first store at 8 Place de l'Opera in Paris in 1929.

At that time, Lancel's sense of innovation was reflected in the design of many products, such as the world's smallest portable radio "Bambino" . With its series of automatic lighters, Lancel won the highest award (Grand Prix) at the 1937 Paris World Expo .

Lancel's historical classic luggage and handbag products include Kangouroo suitcases and Le Dalí handbags . The Kangouroo series was first launched in 1956. It is the world's first soft-sided suitcase made of nylon canvas and is named "Kangaroo" because of the pockets sewn on the outside .

The Le Dalí handbag was created in 1970. It was designed by Spanish artist Salvador Dalí for his wife Gala and then completed with the help of Lancel craftsmen. The handbag is printed with the "La Toile Daligram" pattern , which contains eight coded words, "G" for Gradiva-Gala, "D" for Dalí, and "S" for Salvador. The shoulder strap is shaped like a bicycle chain, implying that two forces are moving in the same direction. After Albert Lancel passed away, his daughter inherited the company, and the Zorbibe brothers and sisters joined as contractors until they acquired the Lancel brand in 1976. Lancel continued to expand its business and opened a store on the Champs-Elysées , a prosperous commercial district in the center of Paris, in 1981 .


To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the bucket bag, Lancel launched the "Elsa" bucket bag series in 1987, which immediately caused a sensation in the fashion industry. 20 years later, Lancel once again launched a replica of the Elsa bucket bag , and in the same year launched the new Premier Flirt series bucket bag .

After entering the 21st century, Lancel has collaborated with famous actresses many times. In 2008, Lancel teamed up with French actress Isabelle Adjani to launch the Adjani series , and two years later, it collaborated with French actress Brigitte Bardot to launch the bag of the same name.

To commemorate the 135th anniversary of the brand, Lancel launched the Angèle series in 2011 to pay tribute to the founder Angèle Lancel. In the same year, Lancel launched the Daligramme series , which reinterpreted the classic designs of Spanish artist Dali through nearly 50 products such as handbags, wallets, purses, accessories, etc.

On the occasion of the brand's 140th anniversary, Lancel released the Iconic series with a new canvas pattern , inspired by the "Art Deco " pattern on the Lancel lighter shell in the early 20th century - the "rotating L" . After redesign and processing, it presents the colorful and modern image of the Lancel brand in the new era. As a celebration, Lancel also held a traveling exhibition and issued a commemorative book. The Lancel brand joined the Richemont Group

in 1997 and was acquired by the Italian leather goods company Piquadro SpA in 2018. It currently operates men's and women's handbags, travel bags, jewelry, scarves, ties, accessories and other leather goods. Representative series include the Charlie series and Le Huit series .

· Chronology of major events ·