Mexican Accessories Brand GAG Bag Just Turned 10

Some fashion brands find long-term success in keeping up and evolving with the ever-changing trends. Others, find their sweet spot in timeless style, silhouettes that transcend seasons and TikTok crazes and consistently keep their cool factor. This latter strategy is in fact the not-so-secret sauce that has kept Mexico City-based leather goods brand GAG Bag growing and flourishing for the past decade. The brainchild of friends (and product design graduates) Gabriela Sánchez and Ana González Barragán, the bag label is rooted in minimalism, sleek design, and functionality. The everyday pieces come in basic geometric shapes — box, half-moon, rectangle, etc — and are set against vibrant colors indicative of its energetic home city — lime, chocolate, lilac, and ruby.

Like so many great brand stories, GAG’s conception was a bit of an accident. Sánchez, whose focus at the time was in architecture and interior design, had gotten her hands on leftover leather scraps from a repurposed couch, and created a tote bag from the pieces. González Barragán, whose emphasis was in product design, discovered the bag while visiting Sánchez one day and immediately requested one of her own, as she appreciated its simple yet artisanal feel. “Then it was like, ‘Why don't we make them?’” recalls Sánchez on a recent Zoom call with TZR. “Then we started collaborating.” And, with that small spark of an idea, GAG was born.

The women kept the operation small and scrappy in those early days, focusing on a small-batch curation that could be sold at local events. “Gabby was sewing, I was cutting,” says González Barragán. “We would sell them at this pop-up event that happened on December, like a Christmas market. It was amazing. A lot of people bought our bags and it was a good start.” Good start, indeed. The smart crossbody styles actually sold out at their inaugural holiday market debut. Even so, the fledgling entrepreneurs explain that the business wasn’t exactly profitable at the time as they knew nothing about proper pricing, and they were also troubleshooting customer feedback and durability issues. Sánchez says those markets still served as a good training ground to make mistakes and learn from them. “It was a good experiment,” she says. “It started working and it was like, ‘Oh, I think we have something that is interesting here, so let's pursue it.’ So we started getting more serious about it.”

Knowing that leather would be the brand’s hero material — and that neither woman had much experience in working with it — Sánchez enrolled in a small leather-working course, one that focused specifically on crafting around accessories and fashion goods. “There's many subdivisions in the work because there's people in Mexico that work in leather for horse-riding and for [use on ranchos],” explains Sánchez. “The leathers are totally different, the materials, the tanning, even where they source from.” So the founders started their journey in better understanding the nuanced leather world, the various forms they wanted to pursue, and how said forms fit into their skillsets and the shapes they wanted to create for their bag styles.

González Barragán and Sánchez looked to the small central Mexican town of León, which is known for its leather goods, footwear in particular (it is often called the "footwear capital of the world" because of its leadership in shoe production). It was important for the duo to find a tanning company that was aligned with their values in regards to sustainability: zero-waste, lead-free, and Fair-Trade compliant. They ultimately found a producer match and have been working with the same partner for the past decade. Because of the unique and minimalist way the leather is worked with, each GAGBag item comes with natural markings and imperfections that make each piece unique and have a personality of its own.

“Our first product, which we don’t sell at the moment, was the tote bag, which is the one that I originally saw at Gabby's house” says González Barragán. “So, originally, it was like, ‘Oh, I think this is a product that I need.’ Then it was like, ‘Oh, I think I need a backpack.’ So we started adjusting these designs to things that we felt that we needed.” With this necessity mindset, the two slowly began to expand, adding the aforementioned backpacks, cross-bodies, and fanny pack styles. “We started thinking of how these simple, non-temporary shapes would accompany you in everyday situations or even special situations and how they can help you feel dressed,” adds González Barragán. “They can stand out without being trendy or seasonal, so you can use and use and use.”

Doubling down on the timelessness and longevity of their offerings, GAG even offers repair services on their bags to ensure their customers are able to keep them for years to come. “We've had customers that, six years later, are like, ‘Could you fix my bag?’” says González Barragán. “It's like, ‘Yes, of course.’ Then I clean it up a little bit, fix it, and sew it up again.”

And while some founders, especially those with equally creative inclinations, might find themselves in a constant state of clashing, GAG’s dynamic duo has found a peaceful synchronicity. “I don't think we've ever had a really huge fight during these 10 years,” says González Barragán. She expands, noting that their personalities balance each other out nicely: She is more of the experimental mindset while Sánchez skews more careful and practical. “I think that since the beginning we felt a very good connection in working together,” says Sánchez. “It was very fun since the beginning, and we always say we're kind of sisters because we share the same friends and we have many things in common. We have very good communication and we’ve always felt comfortable with each other.”

This healthy dynamic has been instrumental in the growth of the brand and the team, but also in navigating tough times like the years that followed after the great shut down of 2020. At the time, the women, who had just converted their Mexico City showroom into a retail concept space, Marsella 68, had to pivot their operations. They took a break from leather production and released a canvas collection, with items made from 100% sustainable cotton. They also shifted their marketing efforts to lean heavy on social media and took some time to reevaluate their manufacturing processes to see if there were opportunities to work more efficiently and economically.

“We've gotten offers to produce our things in China or reducing cost of materials and metal work and everything that we use, but we haven't said yes and we haven't really considered it because we enjoy being involved in the production and in distribution,” says Sánchez. They also like keeping the GAG operations in Mexico, where they both were born and raised.

Now, 10 years later, the women have had some time to reflect on the past and the milestones they’ve achieved with a simple idea that ignited from a handmade leather bag. But, ever the entrepreneurs, their thoughts don’t stay there for long, as they quickly shift forward to the next 10. Now that they’ve conquered the Mexican market, they have visions of infiltrating uncharted markets like the US, Europe, and the UK. They also have new categories on their wishlist, with footwear being a high priority for the coming years. One things for certain, more growth is certainly on the horizon.

Sánchez puts it succinctly: “To reach these goals, we're also improving our processes and our quality and always trying to have the people and the artisans that work with us and the artisans feel comfortable and enjoy the process of achieving these things together.”