Fashion

Why everyone’s talking about Aupen

Taylor Swift is a fan of its accessibly priced bags, and it has a new partnership with LVMH Métiers d’Art. Founder Nicholas Tan tells all.

By Madeleine Schulz

November 28, 2024

Photo: Courtesy of Aupen

During the Tapestry-Capri merger trial, there was one brand on Michael Kors’s lips when discussing the players in the accessible luxury market (except, of course, his own): Aupen.

Like many others, he came across the brand when he saw a photo of Taylor Swift carrying an Aupen Nirvana bag in August 2023, he recalled during the trial. He tried to look it up online but said the website had crashed amid a sudden influx of visitors. “It shows you the power of women like this,” Kors said. It also shows the power of a reasonably priced handbag.

Taylor Swift on one of her nights out with Aupen in October 2023.   Photo: Gotham/GC Images

Charli XCX with a Nirvana bag earlier this month.   Photo: Aeon/GC Images

Until this month, Aupen’s roots were somewhat of a mystery. An ‘anonymous design collective’ was said to be in charge of the aesthetic. No mention was made of the founder. Then, on 4 November, Nicholas Tan (who has previously spoken to press on behalf of Aupen as its head of operations and communications) came out as its founder and owner.

Tan says he stayed behind the scenes at first because he didn’t want his past lives to influence consumer and industry perceptions of the brand. Prior to founding East Ocean (his brand incubator) in 2015, he was a model and swimmer for Singapore’s national team. Given he’s well known locally, Tan wanted to make sure the Aupen product would speak for itself, rather than being relegated to ‘influencer brand’ status. “I wanted to really make sure that our brand foundation and our product were solid,” he says.

Through East Ocean, he helped introduce designers including Dries Van Noten, Altuzzara and David Koma to the Singapore market. “I was functioning as the bridge between these creative designers and the consumer,” says Tan. “A lot of my job was spent commercialising designs so that they could go to market.”

Aupen’s new Lumière Seed bag charm.   Photo: Courtesy of Aupen

At the helm of his own brand, he wants to create a product that’s accessible to the average consumer looking for good quality, he says. “The pricing, the design, the craftsmanship — [it’s all about] the usability. That’s part of the whole mission: we try to create something that people can actually enjoy.”

Much of Aupen’s buzz is down to its celebrity clientele. Aupen sends products to celebrity stylists in hope that they’ll have their clients carry the bags. But Tan is keen to emphasise that the pap shots are “organic” (meaning not paid for). “We’re so lucky every time someone walks out and carries it,” he says. This much is true — brands can gift all they want, but it’s out of their hands once it’s in those of the celebrity stylist, who can take or leave the piece.

Aupen has made its way into the accessible luxury conversation (this was, after all, the context in which Kors applauded the brand). But like many founders of more accessibly priced bags, Tan isn’t keen on the label. “I understand a lot of people try to define the market or segment the market,” he says. “But we would like to see [Aupen] carve out its own space, not to be defined by the existing fashion system or industry categories.”

The LVMH effect

Nevertheless, the establishment has offered a stamp of approval. Earlier this year, Aupen announced a partnership with LVMH Métiers d’Art, the luxury conglomerate’s craftsmanship organisation that connects brands (including its own) with suppliers and manufacturers.

It places Aupen at an interesting intersection, providing it access to the same factories that produce goods for the likes of Chanel and Louis Vuitton, but making bags for the everyday consumer. Many such consumers are now priced out of the former’s offerings, as prices climb out of reach for the average shopper. Tan is convinced they will turn to Aupen.

Jade Groupe, one of the Métiers d’Art factories Aupen is now producing at.   Photo: Dominique Maitre

From now on, much of Aupen’s production will be in Métiers d’Art factories. Already, Aupen’s hardware is produced at Paris-based Jade Groupe, and handbag leather at Tanneries Roux, which specialises in calfskin and is located about two hours outside of the city. “They work with luxury houses like Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Berluti,” Tan says. “So being able to develop leather articles with them has been a really special opportunity.” Going forward, the brand plans to work with LVMH’s global production partners as well. (A representative from LVMH Métiers d’Art declined to comment on the partnership.)

It’s not just the supply chain that’ll benefit from the partnership. Tan is most excited about the advisory aspect, and the expertise the more novice Aupen team can pull from the LVMH Métiers d’Art team.

He highlights learnings about product-quality control systems. “It doesn’t matter which factory you’re using, there’s that system of quality control and level of detail that we’re learning so that we can implement that across all of our products [and production],” Tan says. Products at Jade Groupe, for example, undergo rigorous testing throughout the production process. Understanding what to test for — and how to test it — are key learnings for Tan and his team.

The making of Aupen’s new charm.   Photo: Dominique Maitre

Photo: Courtesy of Aupen

“As a younger brand, if we didn’t have this support, maybe we would not [pay] so much attention to this detail, and then maybe we would just put it on the market,” Tan says. “But now with this partnership, we are a lot more confident in the quality of the product that we are producing.”

The partnership has pushed the brand in a whole new direction, Tan says. At founding, he didn’t expect to move Aupen’s base beyond Singapore. Now, he’s on the hunt for a Paris studio, so that he and the team can spend more time in the city with the Métiers d’Art teams. “This is not something we can do over Zoom.”

As it puts down roots in France, Aupen is launching its first new product since April: the Lumière Seed bag charm, developed and produced at Jade Groupe, on 1 December. Beyond that, for 2025, Tan is focused on developing the brand’s relationships with the Métiers d’Art teams and implementing their processes in Aupen’s own supply chain to continually improve its quality. “That is the key,” he says, “for a brand to have longevity.”

This article was sincerely referred from VOGUE BUSINESS
VIEW THE ORGINAL ARTICLE