The Argentine designer who challenges a fashion empire

José Mollura lives in Amsterdam for almost sixteen years and, like all talented Argentines who live abroad, he stands out. He is dedicated to business of wallets, which he manufactures in his own workshop-atelier located two blocks from the Queen’s Palace. His story went viral because from his Instagram account challenges the big luxury brands who sell a wallet for a figure in dollars with several zeros that is often impossible to believe.

“Always Josecito, never Luisito” (in reference to himself and the French brand Louis Vuitton) became one of his most representative slogans. It was what earned him followers and captured the attention of customers from all over the world. “I like to make people aware: How can a wallet shaped like a bag of chips cost 5,000 euros?”says Mollura in a post, referring to a Balenciaga bag inspired by the yellow packet of Lays potatoes.

Mollura spent a few days in Buenos Aires, where his family lives and, despite being very histrionic, he still He is amazed at the popularity he has achieved in our country. Coffee involved (his other passion is coffee, a subject in which he is an expert), he told some of his story during a talk at Malba.

“In high school, books were not my thing. I’m dyslexic and I think the only book I’ve finished is one about coffee. I always said, since I was a child, that I had to do something with my hands to live and, searching, I found it. My great-grandfather was a shoemaker in Italy and then I went there, for the craftsmanship, for using my hands above all.”says José, dressed in the overalls he wears to work in his Dutch space.

Between Italy and Holland, the uncertain itinerary took him outside of Europe: to India and Thailand. “There I worked for free in a shoe factory. I had previously been to the Milan Polytechnic trying to study fashion design, but the program was not for me, it was too theoretical, with a lot of fashion history and facts that I couldn’t even remember. I wanted to work with a machine. In Calcutta I learned a lot about fabrics, it was a great experience. There I met a person linked to coffee who took me to work in Holland. When he offered it to me, I remember that he was in Thailand, where he also I spent some time living in a Buddhist temple. But I accepted the offer. I have absolute taste for coffee, it’s something I love. So now I combine my two passions in Holland: wallets and coffee.”

The history of the wallets that bear his name began in Amsterdam. He combined the manufacture of accessories with the coffee world: “I saw the sacks that had the grains inside and they were made of burlap: I told myself that I had to do something with that fabric. Those were my first models. He made them in a workshop I had in my house, located in the northern suburbs of the city. I had to cross with a small boat to get there. It was a neighborhood with a lot of crime at that time,” Mollura recalls.

“Over time, I progressed, buying more machines, making new models, adding textures. Parallel, I stayed in the coffee business until today.. On Mondays, when the purse store is closed, I dedicate myself to that. I work in a company that is a laboratory that imports coffee from Ethiopia and Kenya. Every six weeks, I also travel to East Africa to buy grains. It is another income, although since I like it so much, I would do it for free.”

In 2012, the rising handbag designer participated in a competition organized by the Municipality of Amsterdam. His model, designed to ride a bicycle, was the winner of the New Concept category: “It is a design that I make to this day. The prize of the contest was to be in a place in the center, on one of the most important streets in Amsterdam, for four months, and I think that was the takeoff of my professional career with handbags,” he explains after posing with two of his exclusive models on the outskirts of Malba.

“The growth was very slow, but that’s how it had to be; If I had to repeat history, I would sign for it to be like that again. If it had been different, I don’t know if she would have tolerated it. Today, at 45 years old, I realize that everything was fine the way it happened,” she says.

Hernan Cattaneo He is one of the Argentines who one day went to visit him after a show he gave in the Netherlands. As Mollura admires him, on his Instagram he has a record of the Argentine DJ’s visit to his place. “I think the second book I finished in my life was Hernán’s. He always talks about slow growth, going little by little. He talks about what happens today, about the kids who make music: they release a song, they blow it up on Spotify, they fill a stadium and then they don’t know how to process everything that happens to them. I admire Hernán, every time he plays in Holland, I go. I made him a bag for his headphones. I gave it to him from the heart, without asking for anything in return, not a post, nothing. I felt that way,” he says proudly.

Does José Mollura choose his clients? “When someone enters my store, I know if they are going to buy, if they are going to copy something, if they leave and then they will return. Or if he doesn’t come back again. It’s an instinct I have. Many times clients choose a model and I tell them that it is not for them. I don’t want my bags and wallets to be just a souvenir from Amsterdam. I want them to give it a value,” she clarifies.

70% of the Argentine’s clientele comes from the United States and the rest are all European. “I would like to have a North American store in the future. One of my inspirations is the Spanish chef Ferran Adriá, who was chosen several times as the best in the world. In the winter, he would close his restaurant to think about what to do, to plan a new menu. That’s what I would like to do. Spend some time in Amsterdam and then go to a city like San Francisco for a few months. “I’m just working on that.”

He creative process Mollura-style design starts with the ideas that pop into your head in the morning, when you’re out biking or running. She says: “I always have a piece of paper and a pencil, so when the concept comes up, I stop what I’m doing and draw it. I aim for something different, different, unique every time. I never repeat myself. If the customer wants something that many people use, they should go look for it at a chain. In my store there is no bag similar to the other. The truth is that if I feel like I’m getting bored of making a model, I don’t do it anymore.”

Mollura es workaholic: “There are many models in the store and people come in and tell me: ‘I like them all.’ Sometimes, it is better that there is not so much: people get confused with too much. I always think: I should have 10 women’s models and 10 men’s models. However, I have more than 60 in my folder. I can’t stop“, account.

“These days I get up early, have a coffee and go. If I am very packed, I can make up to 6 bags in a day. In between, I serve clients. I work alone. And for me, selling is a consequence of a creative process. I feel more happiness hanging the bag on the wall than selling it. I am a leader to myself. I compete with myself. I want contained demand, I will never sell hundreds of bags. Now, for example, to have a new model you have to wait three months. I do them, I take care of everything. “It is emotional work.”

Are there special models by request? “I make some, they tell me they like a certain texture or mix of colors. I do it, but clients know it takes a while, and they expect it,” he says proudly.

Mollura designs cost between $600 and $3,000. “This year people are taking care of money around the world; nobody knows what is about to happen. But there is always a market for what I do. In any case, my goal is not a place exploited by people. Mine is something more artisanal. I invested everything there. I have a very austere life. I don’t have luxuries, my luxury is machines“, he states with conviction.

A little marketing team In Holland he helped him in brand communication. “People come to my store with models from Vuitton, Gucci, all those brands… They show it to me and tell me: ‘I know that with this bag I’m paying brand name.’ So, sitting with Matías Laña, an Argentine creative who travels the world, told me: ‘This must be brought to light. With your character, if we do things right, it can explode.’ And we start. We pressed play, we recorded the first video talking about what you pay for a fashion brand.”

In one of the videos posted on his Instagram, He spoke directly to the creator of Vuitton. “Luisito, with these two hands and a couple of machines I make this entire collection. How many people do you need to make your bags? 100, 200? How many? When you produce in series, you lose quality. That’s why, always Josesito, never Luisito,” Mollura says to the camera with humor.

“In the videos I also said that design with two hands and a square. The squad is in the premises and now people pass by and take photos with it. It’s unusual. And it’s impressive how Argentinians write to me. I think they see me and realize that it is possible, that if you have passion, it is possible. I think this is very well received by Argentines who are now leaving in search of new destinations,” she says.

The future of Mollura? He imagines himself in San Francisco, with a car from the ’60s and Leonardo Di Caprio as a client. Impossible to finish the interview without asking him why Maximum, the most famous Argentinian in Holland. “I saw her once at an event, but I didn’t even go near her. I wouldn’t even dream of bothering her because she must be bothered by everyone. Of course I would like to send you one of my designs with my logo, which are the three crosses of Amsterdam. I’m hoping that one day he comes to the store and tells me: ‘I heard about you.’.”