What Pourchet is known for
Paris leather house founded 1903 by Auguste Gindre for his wife's reticule workshop; became a full handbag manufacturer under his daughter Marcelle in 1920, and has traded from its arcaded boutique at 13 Place des Vosges since 2011.
Pourchet's origins date to 1903, when Auguste Gindre set up a small workshop for his wife to make reticules -- the hand-worn micro-bags carried by elegant women of the period. His daughter Marcelle turned this into a proper leather handbag manufacturer in 1920, and her son Robert Pourchet took over the business 27 years later. Under Robert in the 1950s the house pioneered mechanized leather-goods production, including what is described as the first punches made specifically for the trade, and introduced sales catalogues to the leather-goods industry. Workshops moved to Rue du Faubourg du Temple in the 1960s, when the house adopted its three-ring Belfort lion logo; 1970 brought the signature 'Madison' canvas in navy, red and green. The best-selling '509' bag followed in 1990, drawing it-bag coverage from the international press. The company changed ownership and relaunched in 2004, and opened its current flagship boutique under the arcades of Place des Vosges in Paris in 2011, adding a second location on Avenue de l'Opéra in 2018. Bags are made from cow leather sourced from European tanneries.
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — Structured handbags in Right Bank leather tradition since 1903
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