Tissa Fontaneda—known for leather bags with a distinctive bubble design—is forging its own retail path in a sector dominated by portfolio players like LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Gucci owner Kering as it seeks to establish its place in the luxury firmament.
Led by its eponymous founder with support from her daughter, Carlota Fontaneda Bamberger, the brand has opened its first fully owner-operated stores in London—and now Madrid. Having tested the retail waters of London’s hippy chic Marylebone using a franchise store model, the two units are a bold move that could open up a pathway to more outlets.
Sales success in Marylebone, despite opening just before the pandemic hit, was enough for the brand to search for a site in another well-heeled part of the city. This led to a fully-owned boutique opening on Motcomb Street in the heart of Belgravia in October 2023. The launch party attracted an eclectic bunch from model Anna Cleveland, and aristocrat and former ‘It girl’ Lady Victoria Hervey, to actress Vanessa Vanderpuye, and author and activist Jeetendr Sehdev.
Earlier this week, Tissa Fontaneda—whose rich career included spells at Loewe working with Narciso Rodriguez plus Cartier, Dunhill, and Louis Vuitton—held another party to celebrate the launch of her second flagship store in the Spanish capital Madrid, home to the company’s showroom and the long-established nerve center for the brand’s activities.
The store in Madrid’s Calle Claudio Coello rubs shoulders with some of the best independent fashion, design, and beauty shops in the city including Lodi, Weekend Max Mara, Kartell, and Aesop. The narrow, tree-lined street is in the upscale Salamanca district and the new boutique signals a new chapter for the brand.
A Spanish retail presence
Following the opening of the London flagship last fall, Fontaneda was already looking to consolidate the brand’s presence in the Spanish capital, where her business began in 2010, and was closing a deal in the city. She said: “Madrid allowed me to wish for, and eventually start, Tissa Fontaneda. I am proud to live, and have an official physical presence, in a city that has blossomed into one of the most important European centers of culture, art, and ‘savoir vivre’.”
She told me: “I would love to open more small, cute boutiques where I can fully expose the Tissa Fontaneda brand universe—but we have to do it step by step. Independence is freedom—especially when it comes to the creative process—and this is how we will continue until we cannot go any further.”
Tissa Fontaneda is currently showcasing its women’s spring-summer collection of leather goods, accessories, and an expanding line of ready-to-wear. The latter is exclusively available in the Madrid and London boutiques, rather than its international wholesale retail locations, much of it sourced from northern Italy with some cashmere sweaters retailing at £1,000 ($1,270). There is also a men’s accessories capsule collection, launched due to a high number of consumer requests.
All the bags are handmade in Spain, using soft Spanish nappa, featuring the signature ‘bubble’ effect that is painstakingly achieved through a lengthy and complex steaming process. The brand is part of the ‘slow fashion’ movement which sticks to ethical production to create long-lasting, quality pieces.
“Accessories for our handbags”
On the clothing side, the designer commented: “This is the first time we have a full ready-to-wear collection. While we are known as a handbag brand, now that we have our own boutiques this is the time to create a full Tissa Fontaneda showcase. Handbags will stay number one and our ready-to-wear will be like the accessories for our handbags.”
That novel angle is one of many that Fontaneda is mulling. She is adamant that her niche products will survive in a world where luxury is becoming evermore industrialized. “When I was younger, there were amazing multi-brand shops in Milan and elsewhere,” she said. “There was a mixture between high-end brands like Loewe or Chloé, for example, as well as some that were a little bit cheaper. This is all disappearing.
“So, for independent brands with higher prices like mine, it is not easy at all. In this scenario, the retail location becomes very important. In the case of London, the boutique is on a street in a very international area where a niche brand can survive. In Madrid, the street is full of independent brands.
“The challenge is that shoppers are walking around with Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, and Hermès bags. Our task is to convince them that they can just as easily be carrying a Tissa Fontaneda bag to add to their designer collections.”
Tissa Fontaneda has moved its pricing into a slightly higher bracket over the past year partly due to the costly bubble production process, and post-pandemic price hikes of raw materials. Moreover, small-batch, artisanal luxury operations will always be more expensive than volume luxury, even if the latter may be hand-finished at some juncture.
Collections range from approximately $560 to $3,300, with an average bag selling at about $2,000. At this level, the brand is confident it can build a loyal clientele in both London and Madrid because the price/quality ratio is better than many of its larger competitors. “Our pricing is not even a factor of marketing; it is based on the raw materials, the production costs, and of course our margin. It’s that simple,” said Fontaneda.
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