We redefine luxury — one bag at a time.
Plant-based, by default.
We use MIRUM®, ELEVATE® and INNOVERA™ — innovative, bio-based materials. Because vegan leather is more than polyurethane, PVC, or polyester.
Handmade, start to finish.
Each bag is cut, stitched and finished by an experienced artisan in our German workshop. On average, creating a bag takes seven hours.
Built for decades
Every Melina Bucher piece carries a lifetime repair option. Reach out to atelier@melinabucher.com and we will help you out.
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Eight years of building what didn't exist.
The first collection
Melina Bucher launches a first collection of three bags: Trudy, Indy and Angel. All vegan and inspired by pets. The brand ships its first bags in March.
A partnership in Ubrique
Melina meets Eusebio and Antonio, two experienced leather artisans in Ubrique, Spain. They accept the challenge of creating the world's first bag made with MIRUM® — a 100% bio-based, plastic-free material. Developing BAILEY takes over 18 months.
German Sustainability Award
BAILEY becomes a bestseller and wins the PETA Vegan Fashion Award and the German Sustainability Award for pioneering the use of MIRUM® in accessories.
A new beginning
When the partners in Ubrique retire, Melina Bucher opens the brand's own workshop in Mannheim, Germany and hires the first designer and master leather artisan. The team spends years developing and prototyping next-generation materials and receives PETA UK's Progress Award.
First accessories
Within the Money Moves Collection, Melina Bucher launches the brand's first wallets, laptop sleeves as well as additional colorways of the bestselling BAILEY bag.
A Dream comes true
After years of development, Melina Bucher completes the DREAMER bag - the world's first fully bio-based, plastic-free bag - and receives the German Design Award for Excellent Product Design. The bag is launched as part of the Geometry collection, featuring the ELAY, MINI ELAY, KINGSTON bags as well as the brand's new icon LOULOU.
Going to Space
The team spends months experimenting with new materials and building countless prototypes — until the world's first bag made with ELEVATE® takes shape. The NUBIAN bag launches on May 4.
The Suede Edit
After months of more prototyping, Melina Bucher develops the world's first bags made with INNOVERA™ Suede — a plant-protein-based vegan suede. The new TESSA bag and the BAILEY and LOULOU bags made with INNOVERA™ Suede sell out quickly.
The RUNA Collection
When two independent, female-founded premium labels with the same mission come together, something exceptional emerges. Melina Bucher partners with the Berlin-based slow luxury womenswear label LOTTA LUDWIGSON to create the first apparel collection made with MIRUM®.
A new category: Belts
Melina Bucher introduces a series of belts — the first accessories crafted from MIRUM® and ELEVATE® outside the bag category, made in the same atelier with the same bio-based materials.
I needed to see it to believe it was possible.
If I could build a beautiful bag without animal leather and without plastic, then maybe the industry's excuses weren't real.
Melina Bucher founded the brand in 2018 after years in business and academia left her asking why the luxury industry refused to question its own materials. She began commissioning prototypes in plant-based materials that most factories refused to touch — and built a team around solving what no one else would.
Today, her team of designers, material scientists, and master bag-makers works from the brand's own atelier in Mannheim. The mission has stayed the same: prove that a desirable luxury product doesn't require a single compromise.
Awarded, not advertised.
PETA Vegan Fashion Award
Best Vegan Leather Bag — Bailey
German Sustainability Award
Outstanding design with MIRUM®
PETA UK Fashion Award
Progress Award — Next-gen materials
German Design Award
Excellent Product Design — Dreamer
Come see how a bag is made.
Book a private visit to our atelier or join one of our open-door weekends. Meet the materials and our craftspeople, ask your questions, and find your next favourite bag.
