McKinsey – Thirty Seven East

Wealth and Elegance 2.0
by Ingrid Bruha, ethical fashion designer

The day I inherited my grandmother’s fur coats–then a symbol of wealth and elegance–I stared at them. I did not want to wear them, nor did I want to throw them away. I had never agreed with the necessary cruelty to produce these coats. But getting rid of them was not an option either: It would have meant killing the animals a second time. So, I ripped them apart; I added the pieces to the bags I was designing; and consciously, I created luxurious totes, pouches and clutches with mostly products that were either recycled or unused leftovers.

I invested into two ideas: to protect our resources and to invest into a circular economy; two ideas that are growing fast across all industries.

A Stylish Elevator for an Ethical Bag
As published in First Class Life magazine | Mexico

There is an old elevator in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, so old that there are no buttons to push, but instead, a cable to maneuver expertly once the primitive steel doors are closed. This is as vintage as it can be: breathing life into memories and ghostly stories alike while eluding a romantic New York, a far cry from the Hudson Yards that recently opened just a few blocks away to the West.

Once inside the third-floor loft, painted in dark and woody colors, a feeling of entering a special world takes the visitor even further. The furniture is a balanced mix between antique tables and lamps found in flea markets and modern sofas and tables. On the right, a small corner office is filled with leather pieces, bouts of fur, African jewelry and a dozen of handbags: clutch, shoulder, tote, crossbody and pouch styles. They are all part of the collection that Ingrid Bruha, a French woman who moved back to the United States with her American husband Sheldon and their three children in 2013, has created for her eponymous and fast-growing brand.