Every journey has a beginning. Every idea realized starts off as a dream. And every woman needs a bag that she can rely on. Lightweight, chic, practical, and with a surprising mid-range price point, the bags that make up the “Baraboux” collection are destined to be wardrobe staples. Made with the multi-tasking woman in mind, the brainchild behind Baraboux is a contemporary woman herself. HRH Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, sits down with Style.com/Arabia at her Paris showroom during Fashion Week to share her story.
STRUCTURE, FOR A START
Growing up with my father being in the diplomatic corps, we were always traveling. My brothers and sisters all knew that if we had to travel with only ten minutes notice, we had to be ready. We had our “go-to” list prepared.
I have traveled all my life and I am a very curious person. Basically, I am über-organized. Ever since I was young, I have liked things to be structured and to be clear. I was the girl at school who had the pencil box with twelve pencils in every color. Baraboux was born from that. But the older I got, I became unable to find the things that I needed.
So, for example, I would go to art stores and use artistic toolboxes to carry my cosmetics; take medical kits and use them to store my face creams; and use men’s travel accessories for my shirts. Because men have been traveling for business longer than women have, they tend to have superiorly tailored travel bags. And while they may be perfectly designed for men, they are not so attractive for us women. What I was searching for was something a little more feminine looking and made with lightweight material.
CREATING MY OWN SOLUTION
When I then had my two children—I learned that a lot of kids’ things are very practical, but naturally, they have a lot of cute aesthetics that make them not so appealing to adults—and I might not necessarily want to carry a bag with bunny ears around even though it may fit everything I want. I went on to read a book by the Founders of the Coffee Republic in London, which got me thinking that even though I had no formal background in fashion design, I should further explore the ideas that were stirring in my mind.
Baraboux was born out of frustration, not necessarily innovation. I wanted to create these products to help women. I thought—there must be other women who might want this or who may have these same issues.
FOR WOMEN ON THE MOVE
While our team was looking at the prototypes, my partner said, “We can do this one out of two ways. Either this will be a passion project and this is going to be something that occupies your time, or, we can develop a business and it has to have a full trajectory if you want to ‘Take over the world’, so to speak.” I decided, “Let’s take over the world.” Because maybe, if a woman in Saudi wants this project, then maybe a woman in London wants it, and a woman in Los Angeles wants it. Across the globe, all us women who work, who have children, who are athletes, who are travelers—we all have the same needs.
Baraboux is not meant to be a premium brand. My dream is to come across women from all over the world, of all financial means using these bags. That is where I will find the prestige in what we have created.
This season, Baraboux, a line of feminine bags and travel necessities with a discreet Bedouin design meant to express the nomadic nature of the modern woman, is launched internationally and will also be available in select regional stores.
