Moo Roo, designer Mary Norton’s handbag line known for its “more is more” aesthetic of feathers and beadwork, has a new name and direction.
With financial backing from Richemont’s new fashion group, The Atelier Fund, eight-year-old Moo Roo is becoming an accessories lifestyle brand called Mary Norton, with initial projections of $50 million in total sales over the next few years.
“Mary Norton is very different from what Moo Roo was,” said Norton, who named the original line after her two daughters, Micah and Reilly. “It’s like being a chef. I had the kitchen and the ingredients. Now I have the finest ingredients and a much better kitchen.”
That so-called kitchen is a 2,200-square-foot showroom in Manhattan, where she will be cooking up exclusive handbags and shoes at retail prices ranging from $395 to $1,800.
Dawn Mello, a partner in The Atelier Fund, whose investment in the brand began Aug. 1, expects to triple sales and open 12 to 15 Mary Norton stores in the next 15 years. The brand recently closed on a 800-square-foot retail space in Los Angeles. Its first store is in Charleston, S.C., Norton’s hometown. Also, fine jewelry and fragrance collections are on the radar.
“My partners and I saw a real void in the marketplace for Mary’s type of bags,” said Mello, a former president of Bergdorf Goodman and creative director of Gucci. “Her philosophy is both sophisticated and whimsical. There’s a spirit to her handbags that’s just not anywhere else.”
Norton described Mello as her personal and professional mentor. “Our bond goes beyond product,” she said.
The two met when Mello stopped by Norton’s current, smaller showroom in Manhattan.
“I always thought Moo Roo was a children’s line,” said Mello, whose office is on the same floor. “Whenever [Norton’s] door would open, I’d look in and see bright pink walls. Then one day I was walking by Bergdorf Goodman and saw a beautiful, feathered bag in the window. I looked in closely to see what the name was and it said Moo Roo.”
Former Neiman Marcus vice president Bill Baum was tapped as chief executive officer to oversee the expansion.
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The fall season will mark Mary Norton’s first foray into print advertising in Charleston magazine, as well as branding at the retail level.
“We need brand awareness,” Norton said. “People go into Saks and are directed to Miu Miu.”
Norton is no stranger to marketing. Two months after Norton founded Moo Roo, actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus carried one of her highly stylized bags on the Emmy Awards’ red carpet. Since then, the designer has attracted celebrity clientele, including Sharon Stone and Halle Berry.
Norton described the Mary Norton brand as “luxury with laughter” that “shows off the Southern eccentricity.” That aura has made Norton so popular with her customers that her public appearances at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York have a waiting list.
“She likes the interaction with consumers,” Mello said. “She loves to do trunk shows and she is such a personality. She responds to people and the personality is reflected in the product.”