VereVerto
Building a cult-favorite fashion brand from the ground up.
As Founder and Chief Creative Officer of VereVerto, I built a contemporary accessories brand from concept to cult favorite over seven years.
What began as a single idea—transformable bags for modern city life—grew into a globally stocked brand spanning 170 wholesale accounts, with features in Vogue and Vanity Fair, celebrity advocates including Solange Knowles and Brie Larson, and a loyal community that continues to trade pieces years after closing.
VereVerto was built end to end: product, brand, systems, and growth.
The same bag, two moments: From horseback to wedding—proof that function and fashion don't have to compete.
The idea began in San Francisco, where I commuted by bike and moved through the city on foot. I couldn’t find a bag that worked for my life—functional enough for movement, refined enough for evening.
I wanted something that transformed with me: crossbody for cycling, hands-free for travel, elevated enough for dinner. Technical without looking technical. Minimal without feeling austere.
That gap became VereVerto.
Where Function Meets Style
Designed for modern city life—transforming from handbag to backpack, from work to dinner, from function to fashion.
Designing the System
Every VereVerto bag was designed to transform—yet the mechanism remained invisible. No exposed buckles, no excessive hardware, no visible seams. The shift was intuitive, almost imperceptible.
Minimalism was deliberate: blind embossing in place of logos, only essential hardware, vegetable-tanned Spanish leather chosen to age and soften over time. Transformation points were integrated seamlessly into the construction.
I designed each bag from initial sketch through technical specification, partnering with a small factory in Ubrique, Spain—a town long known for its leather craftsmanship—to bring the work to life.
The result was understated by design: pieces meant to be worn often, to improve with use, and to outlast trend.
Built for VersatilityThe transformation feature was hidden by design—soft changes, no visible mechanisms, seamless function.
Building the Brand
The Identity
VereVerto sat at the intersection of accessibility and luxury—premium Spanish leather, yet priced for the modern creative professional.
The identity reflected that balance: minimal, sophisticated, grounded. I partnered with a design studio to develop the visual system, then extended it across every touchpoint—from lookbooks to digital.
Building a Cult Favorite
Over seven years, we built:
170 wholesale accounts across the US and internationally
17K+ Instagram followers through organic content and community engagement
Press features in Vogue, Vanity Fair, W Magazine, Man Repeller, Zoe Report, Oprah Magazine, Nylon, and more
Celebrity fans including Solange Knowles and Brie Larson
Influencer moments like Mary Lawless Lee (Happily Grey) organically discovering our Macta backpack—driving best-selling products through genuine discovery
The Systems
I led the DTC strategy end-to-end: built the website, designed email campaigns, art-directed e-commerce photography, and established the operational infrastructure that enabled growth—from wholesale reporting systems to retailer asset management to contractor workflows.
We didn't just make bags. We built the systems, processes, and organizational structure that allowed two non-fashion people to run a globally-stocked brand.
The Community
The loyalty was lasting. Years after closing, people still hunt for VereVerto bags on eBay and resale platforms. That loyalty wasn't an accident—it was earned through consistent quality, authentic storytelling, and a product that genuinely solved a problem.
Solange Knowles wearing the Deco before accepting the award for Most Influential Artist 2017.
Brie Larson with the Macta bag in her movie, Unicorn Store.
The Collection
Every bag was designed to be both beautiful and functional—minimal aesthetic, maximum versatility. The collection grew over seven years, but the philosophy stayed consistent: transformable, timeless, built to last.
VereVerto ran for seven years—longer than most bootstrapped fashion startups survive. We closed not because the brand failed, but because we ran it as far as we could without outside capital.
What I'm most proud of isn't the press or the celebrity moments. It's that we figured it out. We taught ourselves product design, manufacturing, wholesale, DTC, branding, marketing, and operations. We built systems, community, and a product people genuinely loved.
This experience proved I could do it all: conceive a vision, design a product, build a brand, create operational systems, drive growth, and lead through ambiguity. Everything I brought to 686 in scale, I learned by building VereVerto from scratch.
What VereVerto Built
170 wholesale accounts worldwide
A 17K+ organic community
Features in Vogue, Vanity Fair, W, and more
Organic advocacy from celebrities and creators
A cult-favorite product still sought out years later (try eBay!)
