A Chat with Matt and Nat

This morning I had the pleasure of interviewing Inder Bedi, Founder and Creative Director of Matt and Nat. I gained a little insight into his background in fashion, the vegan line that continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and the unique kickoff planned for tomorrow's Matt and Nat sample sale.

Inder Bedi, Founder and Creative Director of Matt and Nat

ABNI: How did you get into designing bags?
Inder: I’ve been vegetarian since I was 18. When I was in University – I got my bachelor’s in marketing and a minor in corporate law – my last semester we had to come up with a business plan and [Matt and Nat] was my makeshift project. I’ve always had an interest and a knack for creativity. I thought about going into English Lit, but I went into business…(laughs) because that was what everyone else was doing. I wrote the plan in 1996, so 12 years ago. Originally it was jackets and bags. Bags always appealed to me. You’re not limited by women or men’s frames. They’re for anyone, as long as you put a handle on them.

ABNI: Coming from a business background, how did you get into fashion?
Inder: I actually worked for two handbag companies based out of Montreal. I really wanted to learn the trade and different aspects of the business. I worked for one year, did my first collection, drove down to New York and started pitching it. That’s where my first customers were, in New York.

ABNI: You said you’ve been vegetarian since you were 18. Why did you decide to carry that over into your fashion line?
Inder: My family is from East India and my parents are pretty liberal. A friend of my dad’s is a Hare Krishna priest and he asked me to go vegetarian for 30 days. After 30 days, I didn’t miss it. That’s when it ended up happening. I started researching animal rights and got into the whole, I don’t want to say movement, but I was curious about the vegetarian community. I was coming more from an ethical point of view than a health one.

ABNI: 12 years ago, I can’t imagine vegan materials were easy to come by. What were the biggest challenges in creating vegan products?
Inder: In the past it was basically sourcing materials that replicate leather. Going forward, we’re looking for more, not just leather, but interesting materials. In the past it was, “How can we get material to look like cowhide and calfskin?” Now, for fall, we used a nylon that was made entirely of recycled material. In terms of the company, we’re changing our focus and going for more unique materials.

ABNI: I'm a vegetarian, and growing up that was not a common thing. People didn’t get it. Now, being vegetarian, and even vegan, in really trendy and gaining popularity. How did you manage to establish Matt and Nat as more than just a fad?
Inder: Well I always say that we’re a fashion company that happens to be vegan. It’s important to make that distinction, otherwise I wouldn’t survive in this industry. Our customers buy for the design, and then when they find out about the company, it’s like a bonus. First and foremost, it has to look cool. It’s a really tricky balance. We have our positivity message, that’s our way of getting our message out there in a nice way. It’s something they can relate to whether they’re vegetarian or not. And the way I look at it, if I can get one customer who wears leather or fur to buy one of my bags, that’s one less leather or fur bag.

ABNI: Do your consumers respond differently to your collections in North America vs. Europe?
Inder: To a certain degree, yes. But the world has become such a small place, that you don’t know why things do well in certain places. In London people are more forward, in Tokyo people are more forward, especially in men’s fashion. Yellow sold more in London, but it’s hard for us to tell why. But our business is so vast, it appeals to such a broad range of customers, and we’re still building our brand.

ABNI: How do you reinvent your designs to keep them fresh and current?
Inder: We took a completely different focus for this fall. For the first time in 12 years, we decided to scrap the whole line and start over. It has been satisfying on a personal level. We went for a super specific, very particular look. This fall we got into Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s Men, Fred Segal, Kitson – getting into those stores was really exciting because it shows that a vegan line can go mainstream.

ABNI: Getting into boutiques like Fred Segal and Kitson in Los Angeles is a designer’s ticket into celebrity culture. Have you experienced that at all?
Inder: We have a bit of a celebrity following already. Natalie Portman, for her latest movie, pretty much had Matt and Nat bags throughout the whole film, My Blueberry Nights. We just got a thank you note from Eva Mendes for some bags we sent her. Gwyneth Paltrow, Kim Basinger regularly requests stuff from us for her projects, Heather Mills is a strong supporter of our stuff, Woody Harrelson, Woody Allen... In all honesty, the whole celebrity push is weird to me, but sometimes you have to use the tools available to you to get the product in the spotlight.

ABNI: Men’s Vogue just did a piece on designer’s inspirations. What are your inspirations?
Inder: We’ve really been inspired by architecture - steel and hardware - and having a raw look to things.  That’s been our biggest inspiration, just structure.

ABNI: Do you have a fashion must-have?
Inder: No. I do own a ton of jackets for some reason… (laughs) probably because we’re in Montreal. I love jackets. You can dress down and pretty much wear a nice jacket and change your whole look. And watches. You can wear jeans and a shitty t-shirt and a cool watch and look good. Besides that, I’m pretty much a slob. (laughs)

ABNI: Who are your favorite designers?
Inder: I’m not really loyal to any labels. In the last 12 months I have been disappointed with what’s out there, especially for men. There’s nothing really progressive.

ABNI: A Bag Named Isabella was inspired by my first designer item, what was the first thing that connected you to the fashion world?
Inder: We do a bag called the Buddha Bag. It was one of the first bags we did when we switched to overseas production eight years ago. It represented a significant balance for me at the time. The bag is still with us, which is weird, because most bags don’t last more than two or three seasons. It’s not one of the most innovative or forward bags we do, it’s basic, but for some reason it keeps hanging around. So when I think of when we first launched, I think of that bag. It’s been modified, it’s changed, but it’s one of the only styles we have from when we launched.

Buddha Bar

ABNI: It must be a popular bag!

Inder: It is very popular.

ABNI: A few weeks ago, I was startled by something I read on your blog. You said, “We're about to literally throw our bags out the window and start fresh.” Now I know what you were talking about. Tell us about tomorrow’s sample sale.
Inder: Fall was a new…it was a big change for us. We really cut down distribution, our price point is going up 30-50%, we did a whole men’s collection – it was a big change. Just going through all this, the bag throwing felt like the right thing to do. We’re located on the fourth floor on Chabanel St., which is the Mecca for fashion in Montreal. Our sample sales are pretty big, I think our last one had 11,000 people in two days -

ABNI: Eleven thousand people?
Inder: - yeah, so to kick it off tomorrow at noon, we’re going to open the windows and throw [bags] out into the parking lot.

ABNI: Eleven thousand people in your parking lot might be a little overwhelming.
Inder: (laughs) I’m hoping for three to four hundred. People usually start lining up a few hours before.

ABNI: I’ve read that we can expect Matt and Nat belts, shoes and clothing in the future. Is that in the works?
Inder: It’s always in the back of my mind. But things have changed so rapidly in the last five years. We had an amazing reaction to the men’s collection, so we want to keep pushing that and do more for spring next year. Kate Spade had a great line and she said unless she could bring something new to the marketplace, something fresh, she didn’t want to branch out, and I’d say the same thing. It takes time and it has to be done right…what we consider to be perfect.

ABNI: So you’ve got a new men’s collection, you’re going in a different direction for fall, what else is going on at Matt and Nat?
Inder: We work with a lot of different charities - 

ABNI: Which I think is great, by the way.
Inder: It’s very rewarding on a personal level. You know, when we go out for drinks after work, half the employees don’t or can’t come, but when we say we’re going on Saturday to feed the homeless, everyone, all the employees, show up.

ABNI: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me today. I can’t wait to see what you do next. There don’t seem to be any other companies really doing what you do - animal friendly bags that are still stylish.
Inder: Yeah, in 12 years, I haven’t seen much progress in vegan products that are fashionable and mainstream.

ABNI: Well, I’m really glad there is Matt and Nat.
Inder: Thank you so much.

photos: courtesy of Matt and Nat