Toronto Accessory Brand Zvelle Debuts A Vegan Leather Bag

The Editke is available for pre-order now.

Coming off a busy year of launching new footwear styles, opening a flagship store in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood and overseeing an initiative to give back to frontline workers (not to mention celebrating its fifth birthday), Canadian accessory brand Zvelle is ending 2020 on another high note with the launch of its newest style – a sleek, versatile and vegan shoulder bag called the Editke.

Zvelle’s founder, Elle AyoubZadeh, continues her commitment to craft in her offerings by working with specialized Italian factories to produce Zvelle’s pieces, and the Editke is no exception to that ethos. However, it is exceptional in that the bag boasts a unique extendable strap (so you can also wear it like a crossbody bag), and is fabricated with a combination of technical nylon and vegetarian leather. Here, Elle AyoubZadeh tells us more about the launch.

What was the inspiration for the bag’s silhouette?

My starting inspiration was the material, a technical nylon. In design, I like a mix of contrasts and unexpected combinations. For example, I wanted something that holds its shape but was soft at the same time. A hobo style fits that silhouette with the mix of our technical nylon and vegetarian leather. I also knew that I wanted the Editke bag to have our half-moon circle pockets, which is something we had in our first handbag’s design, and playing around with different silhouettes I quickly set my heart on this shape. Timelessness and agelessness is the feeling I wanted this bag to evoke – and it does.

What is vegetarian leather and why did you want to use it in the design?

I’ve been researching technical nylon since 2019 and met with many specialized suppliers while I was in Italy, and when I got to work with the best of the best I thought to myself that we are pretty much 90% vegan with the nylon so why not go all the way there? No animal products were used in the making of the Editke bag. It’s entirely vegan. For me, it’s all about the material – how it looks and feels and ages over time – and when I found this specific vegan leather, we knew it was the right move.

For some years now we have been using luxury deadstock only [materials], and that is now gaining momentum with bigger luxury brands. Deadstock refers to the materials that suppliers already have in stock versus inventing new leather or vegan leather; fabrications we used when we first started. Sustainability means different things to different brands and for us, it means doing the best we can everyday and learning every day. It’s a modest approach that is working for us. So, when we got access to this incredible vegan leather that is of the quality and the standard of Zvelle, it was a no-brainer to work with it.

Why are you excited about this launch?

I’m so proud of all the work we did with our Editke bag. It’s our most innovative style and it’s a very unique design.  It’s all the things we want to achieve with any Zvelle style: Sensual, feminine and practical. Like all our bags, the Edikte bag has two generous pockets on the inside, one with zip closure so you have space to take all the things you need with you. I love that you can wear it as a shoulder bag and a crossbody bag without heavy hardware to add to the weight. This was something we spent a lot of time innovating. The bag is so light, which is something I love.

Anyone who knows us knows that craftsmanship has always been the highest priority for us and we wanted to show the passion and love that went into making the Editke bag; we made a video about the making of [it] that we have shared on social media. There is also a beautiful story about why I named this bag Editke, which we will share soon!