EXCLUSIVE: Celebrity-favorite Leather Label Linea Pelle Returns With Accessories for the Modern Day
Linea Pelle, the leather label founded in 1986 by Mira Katz, is returning this month with a new accessories collection.
The fashion company is debuting a 16-piece leather belt collection on Monday, marking the brand’s relaunch after taking a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The collection was designed by Katz and the brand’s design director of women’s accessories, Amy Bognacki, and will be available through the brand’s relaunched e-commerce site. The lineup will retail for $138 to $250.
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Katz launched Linea Pelle at her boutique in New York City, called Without Limit, which was a favorite of the Studio 54 set and shopped by the likes of Donna Summer, Janet Jackson, Diana Ross and others. Katz leveraged her eye for statement pieces to launch Linea Pelle and offer leather goods across accessories categories and apparel. Her line has been worn by celebrities like Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, Emily Ratajkowski, Megan Fox and others. Linea Pelle has also produced accessories under private label for brands.
In relaunching Linea Pelle, Katz and Bognacki pored over the brand’s archives to leverage its heritage and bring it into the modern day.
“We went through [the archives] and found gorgeous pieces of hardware, leather and really wide waist styles — studded over-the-top styles that would go over the loops of your jeans — and we kind of reimagined those,” Bognacki said. “We resampled them, updated the colorways and fine-tuned the details, and that’s really where the genesis for the relaunch came about.”
The collection offers a mix of modern and vintage belt designs in black and brown leather. Standouts include the Aspen Belt, a wide style with an oversize gold buckle, and the Marlowe Belt, a thin style embellished with brass and nickel studs and buttons.
Bognacki explained the collection is meant to offer statement accessories to a wide range of customers, targeting the brand’s existing consumer base and aiming to attract a new, younger audience.
“The core of Linea Pelle has always been belts, so we’re starting there and we’re making sure that business is strong,” Bognacki said. “I like the idea of taking the information that we gain from the new website and seeing who our customer is. Are our customers loyal from who we were back in the day? Do they remember us? Are they interested in what we’re still showing?”
The designer said that because of the brand’s roots in leather and hardware, Linea Pelle has plans to go back into handbags and possibly jewelry in the future. She explained the brand’s current focus is taking learnings from the belt collection’s launch and producing products based on customer demand.
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