American luxury brand Mark Cross relaunches with a focus on heritage

The US is becoming known for its in-demand accessible luxury handbag offerings, with Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs, and even the Tapestry brands—much to the chagrin of the FTC— dominating the space. When it comes to heritage American luxury handbags, Mark Cross, however, sits in a class by itself. Since the brand, founded in Boston in 1845, was purchased by Neal Fox in the early Aughts and initially relaunched in 2012 with an exclusive distribution at Barney’s New York, its Grace Box bag has made hit bag status for a new generation. The brand is looking forward to the era under the tutelage of Chief Executive Officer Gayle Dizon and Chief Creative Officer Sean Spellman, two seasoned individuals with diverse backgrounds who see the potential to realize the label more holistically.

The vision for the new Mark Cross era is to lean into its American luxury lifestyle roots (Its fancy pedigree includes ties to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘Tender is the Night.’), a rejiggered retail strategy, and revamp of its website. But first in order was revisioning heritage through its offerings vis à vis the archives.

“The house ethos is built upon a reputation of meticulously crafted leather goods. Our lifestyle essentials are not merely possessions – they are heirlooms destined to be passed down through generations, each piece telling a story of exquisite craftsmanship and enduring beauty. We are stewards of timeless elegance and preservers of American heritage,” Spellman said in a release.

“We describe SS24 as a collection 180 years in the making. The first style developed by Sean was the Jane, a reinvention of an archival Mark Cross bag from the 1960s, with the hardware referencing a repeating motif from the turn of the century across luggage and saddlery. The Romy 25 was reimagined from an archival 1970s style, the Romy Clutch inspired by the women of the same era,” Dizon told FashionNetwork.com via email.
 
According to the CEO, the Romy clutch and the lightweight Eleanor 45 tote are popular styles. “Sean is currently reworking classic Mark Cross staples, specifically the Madeline and the infamous Grace Box, planned for launch later this year and into 2025 to mark the 180th anniversary of the house,” she added.
Dizon said the brand also has an upcoming collaboration “based around four styles which speak to an elevated, charmed lifestyle with AERIN,” the global luxury lifestyle brand founded by Aerin Lauder, with more partnerships planned.
 
Spellman and Dizon plan to focus on two areas, men’s and retail, which had stalled previous attempts, presumably due to the pandemic. The former was on the agenda since Fox’s era and realized under former CEO Ulrik Garde Due in 2019 when Mark Cross launched men’s offerings to include styles that borrowed from a Sixties-era MC jacquard pattern and equestrian-inspired belt closures in a nod to the brand’s saddlery history.
 

Under Spellman, the design and creative direction will be synonymous with the craftsmanship and quality the brand has been known for by forming stronger ties to the family-owned factories in Northern Italy that have been making the bags for the last 50 years. Signature materials such as vachetta, tumbled grain, and box calf in black, acorn, and oxblood are kept raw and unfinished in a nod to the equestrian roots of Mark Cross.
 
“We have long-term goals with strong intentions to navigate the intersection of heritage and innovation with this relaunch of Mark Cross. Our aim is to establish Mark Cross as not just a leather goods accessories brand but an aspirational lifestyle brand defining American luxury.”
 
The duo plans to approach retail with a slew of gallery-style pop-up experiences globally throughout the rest of the year and are firm believers that a permanent brick-and-mortar presence is crucial for the lifestyle vision which sees expanding Mark Cross beyond women’s and men’s bags to categories such as travel, home, and pet, for example.
 
Spellman and Dizon offer a fresh take for their tenure for GF Capital, which acquired Mark Cross in 2016. It’s a management and private equity firm that also owns Mansur Gavriel, Oscar de la Renta, and Jonathan Adler, among others.

Spellman is a fashion stylist and creative consultant who has worked with brands such as Louis Vuitton, Moncler, Tommy Hilfiger, and Hugo Boss, while Dizon founded Dizon, Inc., a New York-based creative studio, in 2000.

The pair have a rich history to work with that is as enviable as any European luxury house: a saddlery brand made for the horse and carriage age, a second-generation owner Gerald Murphy and wife Sara who defined Hemingway’s Lost Generation in 1920s France (hence the Fitzgerald tie-in) and a 1950s Hitchcock film association—Rear Window with James Stewart and Grace Kelly—as the actress carried the famous box bag.

They may also target a new white space as European household name luxury brands such as Chanel, Hermès, Dior, and others have price hikes that have left behind many aspirational luxury customers. With average price points between approximately $1890 to $3250 and exceptional quality, the discreet charm of a Mark Cross bag should appeal to those priced out of five-figure leather goods.