A tote so classic, it’s become a family member
A designer’s decade-long journey with a single product, highlighting the slow, meticulous process of innovation.
The story
Sara Naghedi reflects on her 10-year-old accessories brand, which has grown significantly and expanded into shoes, cosmetics pouches, and more, with her St. Barths Tote as a long-standing bestseller.
Source: wwd.com
Our reading
The St. Barths Tote has sold 433,500 units in 10 years, which is a lot of bags, but also a lot of people carrying the same thing. It’s like the fashion equivalent of a comfort food — you know it by heart, you trust it, and you don’t really need to change it. But Naghedi says innovation for her is just ‘straying away from our classic’ — which is like saying a jazz musician’s innovation is playing a different note in the same chord.
She tried 20 times to get suede right, which is more attempts than most people use to learn a new language. And yet, the brand is now sold in 441 retailers, which is a lot of places, but not a lot of people. It’s the kind of growth that feels like a slow burn, not a wildfire — which is fine, as long as the fire doesn’t go out.
She wants a store in the northeast. That’s a dream, but also a practical move. After all, if you’ve spent a decade making the same bag, you might as well make it a place where people can touch it, and maybe buy it, and maybe even not feel bad about it.
