Esha Soni
Luxury accessory designer
Esha Soni handbags are perfectly scaled, wearable sculptures. Inspired by sculptors including Jean Arp and Jules Olitski, Esha’s impeccably crafted, often asymmetrical pieces are nothing short of swoon-worthy.
Raised in Mumbai, Esha moved to New York City to attend FIT. After graduating and spending time in Florence, she cut her professional teeth working for designers such as Ralph Lauren, Proenza Schouler, and Michael Kors. She was invited to join the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) in 2023 and was awarded the coveted US Fashion Trust Accessories Award by Isabel Marant in 2024.
For Esha, it’s not just about gorgeous design and materials, but about giving back to the roots that anchor her. SPEAK, the foundation she started, empowers underserved children in India through primary education. Its goal is to infuse vocational training that leads to tangible opportunity while encouraging timeless craftsmanship. What could be better than masterful design with a purpose?
Esha and I had a wonderful conversation about her varied design and art influences, how years working for fashion design legends influenced her own brand, and the investment pieces she loves. Read it below for a dose of spring inspiration.
Q&A
You’ve spent much of your career at iconic brands like Ghurka, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Mansur Gavriel, and Proenza Schouler. What are some lessons from those experiences you’ve brought into building your own brand?
I had a very unique opportunity when I started working at Michael Kors. It was in 2006, which was pre IPO, and there were about 300 employees in the entire company. Because we were such a lean team and were growing so fast, I was essentially in charge of the luxury line, almost running my own business within Michael Kors. I got to put my hands into every single aspect of creating a product: merchandising, production, and everything I need to be able to do to create my product today.
I also got to work with the best tanneries, the best factories, the best hardware suppliers, and I built such a strong network, which is everything in this industry. More than anything, I learned how important it is to work with people who are aligned with your thinking. My bags are produced in a factory outside of Florence, and the woman who owns the factory and I are very much aligned in how we want to produce the bags and what we want to achieve.
What drew you to create something timeless rather than chasing trends?
Working in the industry for that amount of time also gave me clarity on what I didn’t want to do. A lot of times, I felt like I was constantly chasing, chasing, chasing. The minute you finish one season, you have to get on the next season, and at one point, you’re working on five different seasons, and you’re just like: What is going on? We are not saving the world. We’re not doctors. Why are we working like this? Something is broken.
I wanted to take all of that chasing out of the process and just slow down. So I said to myself, “I want to sit down and really enjoy the process of creating. I want to take my time and be intentional, and if it’s not ready, it’s not ready. I don’t have to get something out at a certain time if it’s not right.”
From there, it was very natural to design something that felt timeless. I'm very much against the idea of creating something and then it being on sale a few months later because, to me, it devalues the product. And hello, let’s talk about sustainability — it’s not sustainable.
I didn’t have a merchandising plan, I just went with my gut feeling that I didn’t want to chase trends and that if I created something from the heart — something beautiful that I love — the customer would come. We should all be listening to our intuition and instincts more, but we don’t because there’s so much noise.
Paid subscribers get access to the full interview below, including Esha’s under-the-radar favorites, travel recommendations, and more. I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber to support our work — and a huge thank you to those who already do!
