Who Is Ateliers Auguste? The Paris Bag House Explained

Ateliers Auguste is a Parisian leather goods house founded by two brothers, Laurent and Xavier Valembert, that designs structured, minimalist handbags in Paris and has them made by hand in workshops in the Venetian countryside from Italian calf leather. The women’s line dates from 2018 by the brand’s own account; a December 2025 profile traces the label to 2012 and its first men’s messenger bags. The bags are sold direct, online and from one boutique at 8 rue de Turenne in the Marais, and Luxury Handbags stocks 73 of them at $730 to $1,350.

The name is often written Atelier Auguste in the singular; the house spells it Ateliers, plural, for the workshops it works with. This page gathers what the brand and its two published interviews actually say about who makes the bags, where, from what, and why they look the way they do.

Key facts

• Founders: Laurent and Xavier Valembert, brothers, Paris.
• Founded: the women’s collection since 2018 (the brand’s story page); the label itself since 2012 with men’s leather goods (Kismet, December 2025).
• Designed in Paris; handbags handcrafted in Italy, in the Venetian countryside; small leather goods made in Porto, Portugal.
• Leather: Italian calf from tanneries in northern Italy less than 70 km from the workshops, hides from the food industry only, REACH compliant, tanned at an LWG-certified partner.
• Hardware: the house plaque and clasp in a Gold Edition (71 bags at Luxury Shoes ) and a Silver Edition (2).
• Boutique: 8 rue de Turenne, 75004 Paris, near the Saint-Paul metro, Monday to Friday 11 am to 7 pm, Saturday 2 pm to 7 pm.
• Guarantee: one year against manufacturing defects, with a repair service afterwards.
• At Luxury Shoes : 73 bags across 15 models, $730 to $1,350, median $1,120.

The founders and the idea

The Valembert brothers describe the house as a design project before a fashion one. Its story page names Le Corbusier, Jean Prouvé, the Eameses and Frank Lloyd Wright as the references, and the bags follow: rectangles, trapezoids, a visible internal structure and one piece of metal on the front. In March 2026 Laurent Valembert put it as a rule, “Every line must have a purpose. Every volume must be justified,” and said the aim was “a permanent wardrobe of objects” rather than a seasonal one. Xavier Valembert, in the same interview, said the starting point was “a desire to create objects that combine architectural clarity with emotional depth.”

That shows in how few shapes there are. 15 models cover the whole women’s line at Luxury Shoes , most of them in three to five shades and two leathers, and the same models have been on the site since the June 2026 launch; the September additions are new leathers and a new size of an existing tote, not new silhouettes. The bag guide walks through every one.

Where and how the bags are made

The handbags are made in Italy, in what the brand calls ultra-modern workshops in the Venetian countryside, by craftsmen trained for years under master leatherworkers. The brand says cutting, slitting, trimming, assembly, sewing, edge dyeing and hot stamping add up to more than four hours of work per bag. The small leather goods, the wallets and card holders, are made in Porto in northern Portugal by a workshop three generations old, from the same Italian leather.

The leather comes from tanneries in northern Italy less than 70 km from the workshops. The brand states that it uses hides from the food industry only, that every leather complies with the European REACH standard, and that its calf leather is tanned at a partner certified by the Leather Working Group. The leathers are treated to resist rain, so the brand says a water-repellent spray is not needed at purchase. The leathers guide explains box calf, smooth, pebble, suede and lizard-embossed one by one.

Direct to consumer, and what that does to the price

The house has sold direct since it began, online and through the Marais boutique, and says on its story page that cutting out intermediaries lets it price “at the fairest price” while keeping a direct line to its customers. It ships to more than 80 countries. In practice a Roquette crossbody in box calf is $870 at Luxury Handbags and the largest tote, the Sévigné, is $1,260, which puts the house well under the heritage Paris houses for comparable Italian-made leather; the worth-it page does the arithmetic against DeMellier, Strathberry and ATP Atelier.

The bags, in one paragraph each

The Roquette is the small crossbody that also sits on a belt. The Mini Monceau, Monceau Baguette and Monceau are the shoulder family with the soft curved base. The Marceau and Alma are the flatter structured shoulder shapes. The Mini Capucine and Capucine are the compact top-flap bags. The Mini Marly and Marly are the trapeze bags with the top handle, and the Mini Marly is the most searched of all of them. The Mini Amelot and Amelot are the soft crossbody totes. The Passy East West is the long, low shoulder bag, and the Sévigné and the new Mini Sévigné are the work totes.

How to buy Ateliers Auguste

From the brand, online with duties included for the EU, the UK, the United States, Canada, the Gulf states, Japan and Singapore among others, and from the Paris boutique with a tax refund for non-EU residents. From Luxury Shoes , with express delivery worldwide from our UAE and Australia hubs, authenticity verified before dispatch and duties calculated at checkout; the where-to-buy page sets out both routes country by country.

“In the beginning, it was about a desire to create objects that combine architectural clarity with emotional depth,” Xavier Valembert told Style Essentials in March 2026. “Architecture teaches you restraint.”

Frequently asked questions

Who owns Ateliers Auguste?

The two brothers who founded it, Laurent and Xavier Valembert. The house is independent and Paris-based, and the brothers still give the interviews and set the design direction.

When was Ateliers Auguste founded?

The brand’s own story page dates its women’s leather goods to 2018. A December 2025 profile in Kismet gives 2012 as the founding year, when the label made men’s messenger bags. Both are true of different lines, so this page gives both.

Where are Ateliers Auguste bags made?

In Italy, by hand, in workshops in the Venetian countryside, from calf leather tanned in northern Italy. The small leather goods are made in Porto, Portugal.

Is Ateliers Auguste a luxury brand?

It is a contemporary luxury house: Italian-made structured leather bags at $730 to $1,350, sold direct, with a one-year guarantee and a repair service. It sits below the heritage Paris houses on price and above the high street on make.

Atelier Auguste and Ateliers Auguste: which is right?

Ateliers Auguste, plural. The singular Atelier Auguste is the most common misspelling in search, and the brand answers to both, but the label, the boutique and the website all use Ateliers.

What is the Ateliers Auguste signature?

Architectural shapes with one piece of metal on the front: the engraved plaque and clasp, in gold on the Gold Edition and in silver on the Silver Edition, and four metal feet under the structured bags.

Read next

Every Ateliers Auguste bag, with dimensions and prices. The Luxury Handbags review of the bags in the hand. Brands like Ateliers Auguste.

More Ateliers Auguste guides

Every Ateliers Auguste page by Luxury Shoes ’s fashion editor Gemma Deeks: Brands like Ateliers Auguste, Bag guide, Bag sizes, Is it worth it?, Leathers and care, Gold vs Silver Edition, Colours, Where to buy, vs Polène, vs DeMellier, New arrivals 2026, Best bag for work, Review, Sévigné review, Mini Sévigné vs Sévigné, Mini Marly review, Marly review, Monceau guide, Roquette review, Capucine review, Marceau review, Alma review, Amelot review, Passy East West review.

Sources and method

Checked on 19 September 2026 by Gemma Deeks, fashion editor at Luxury Shoes . Product facts, the dimensions, handle drops, weights, leathers, linings and country of manufacture, are the brand’s own product-page text; prices and price ranges are Luxury Shoes ’s live catalogue on that date and move with stock; the founders’ story comes from the brand’s own pages and the two interviews listed below, each read on the date above. The founding year is given two ways in the sources and the page says so. Where a claim could not be checked against one of these it was left out, and where the fitting room is giving its own advice the page says so.

• ateliersauguste.com, Our story: the house’s own account of its founding by two brothers, the women’s line since 2018, the architects it cites, the Italian tanneries, REACH and LWG
• ateliersauguste.com, Ateliers: the workshops in the Venetian countryside, the four hours of work per bag, the small leather goods made in Porto
• ateliersauguste.com, Care: the brand’s own use and care recommendations
• ateliersauguste.com, FAQ: guarantee, returns, delivery times and the countries where duties are included
• ateliersauguste.com, Paris: the boutique at 8 rue de Turenne, its hours and the tax refund
• ateliersauguste.com, Warranty: the one-year guarantee and the repair service
• ateliersauguste.com, Spring/Summer 26 Collection: the smooth-leather Passy, Sevigne and Mini Sevigne launch
• Ateliers Auguste product pages: dimensions, handle drop, weight, leather, lining and country of manufacture of every bag (121 pages read on 19 September 2026)
• Kismet, 14 December 2025: Ateliers Auguste, Architecture, Integrity, and the Quiet Power of Timeless Design (interview with Xavier Valembert)
• Style Essentials, 9 March 2026: Why Laurent and Xavier Valembert Chose Precision Over Fashion (interview)
• ateliersauguste.com blog: Design and Architecture, how modernist lines inspire the bags
• ateliersauguste.com blog: Why Manufacture in Italy, the tanneries and the workshops
• Luxury Handbags live catalogue, 19 September 2026: prices and stock