Polène, the small rising French brand, is displayed on the arm of Kate Middleton

This May 10 in Manchester, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William were traveling to Manchester.

To inaugurate the Glade of Light memorial, in tribute to the victims of the May 2017 attack, Kate Middleton bet on a sober outfit, for the occasion.

One detail, however, catches the eye: her handbag.

Square, flat and refined silhouette, deep blue and golden details, it is the

model from Polène, the successful French leather goods brand.

A family story

At the genesis of Polène, there is a family with a pronounced taste for craftsmanship.

Two brothers, Antoine who works in e-commerce and Mathieu in communication, and a sister, Elsa, webmaster.

In 2015, they went to the open doors of the Hermès workshops and fell in love with the gestures of the craftsmen.

The three thirty-year-olds began to dream of a brand of bags with excellent know-how... but at an affordable price.

Their affection for beautiful things was certainly inspired by their great-grandfather, founder of the famous Saint-James sailor brand.

But they are new to leather goods.

Full screen

Kate Middleton all dressed in navy blue, Polène's

bag on her arm at the

memorial .

(Manchester, May 10, 2022.) Getty

Is.

With a first sketch made by themselves, without the help of a stylist, they go to Ubrique in Andalusia, one of the top places for leather goods in Europe where the creations of Loewe, Chloé or Jacquemus were born.

They first find the doors of the workshops closed, but settle down and persevere.

Until getting their entries and finally giving birth to this first bag, in October 2016. A round model, in full-grain calfskin, handmade.

the

firstborn of an entire dynasty.

International success

From

to

and their variations, then

,

or

, the Polène bags are distinguished by their refreshing, modern and unadorned silhouette.

Bet won for the siblings.

The bags seduce the press, influencers and are real commercial successes.

Thanks to this balance between know-how, sobriety and good value for money (due in particular to a sales system without an intermediary), bags abound on the arms of Parisiennes from 2017. But the brand passes a second milestone when it hits the the eye of the most influential designers outside our borders.

Seduced by the brand, Parisian actress Camille Razat submits a few models to stylist Patricia Field on the set of the

Jackpot: his character carries three Polène bags during season 1 and five more are found in season 2. The impact is considerable: the clientele, then mainly French, becomes half international.

Polène also plans to open its first store this summer in Manhattan.

New brilliance for French leather goods, with Kate Middleton and her Number Seven, certainly acquired under the advice of her image consultant.

For the occasion, the brand has put this color back on sale, out of stock, on its site (in pre-order).

It's a safe bet that it's across the Channel that