Tyler's Got a Brand New Bag

Tyler Ellis, the successful handbag designer and heiress daughter of iconic fashion mogul, Perry Ellis, shares about the new bespoke direction of her brand, the value of Learning Lab Ventures, the meaning of pine cones, and as Stephen Christopher finds, how you can have your cake and eat it too.

"I have to show you something,” Tyler Ellis, says, taking out her phone. She zooms in on a photo of one of her beautiful handbags, then swipes to the next shot. To my surprise, that same bag now has a slice taken out of it. What? “My grandmother had this cake made—a perfect replica,” she says, laughing, “My mom thought it was real too, and then we ate it.”

Tyler plops her latest creation down on the table at Bedford & Burns. “This one is called Grace,” she says, “I’ve recently decided to go the bespoke and bridal route, so my clients can choose their specific fabric, color, and monogram—they become a part of the handbag design experience.”

Today, Tyler, straight from an Oxygen Facial at the Peninsula hotel, has very little makeup on, and her skin is glowing. She’s casually cool in a dusty-rose cashmere sweater by Skull, and a pair of black rag & bone ripped jeans. Around her neck is her grandmother’s gold charm bracelet that Tyler cleverly repurposed into a necklace and she’s sporting the sweetest pair of Giuseppe Zanotti riveted ankle boots that, naturally, she picked up in Paris. “I rarely wear heels,” Tyler says, “I have scoliosis, so I can’t. The one pair of heels I can wear are the YSL platforms.”

Unlike other designers, Tyler’s logo is conspicuously absent from the outside of her bags. Inside, though, like Louboutin’s red soles, Tyler Ellis bags have their trademark Thayer blue lining— named after the first street she grew up on in Los Angeles. “I want the design of the bags to speak for themselves,” she says.

Sprinkled about on the hardware of her bags are pine cones. “They’re my symbol,” Tyler informs me, “I was inspired by the giant pine cone at the Vatican’s Pina Court. It means the highest form of spiritual awakening and perfection. They’re on my zipper pulls and the little feet of my bags—for a dash of positivity and power.”

It seems to be working. Like that cake, the positive and powerful A-list celebs are eating up Tyler Ellis handbags. Take a leisurely scroll through Tyler’s Instagram (@imtylerellis), and witness for yourself. There’s Oprah, Gigi, Salma, Reese, Hailee, Demi, Tracee, Emily (Blunt and Ratajkowski), Molly, Mandy, and Miranda—all carrying her clutches on the red carpet.

The nearly impossible life of Tyler Alexandra Gallagher Ellis began when her parents, design icon, Perry Ellis, a gay man, and his best friend, Barbara Gallagher, a successful television writer and producer, began a conversation about, well, producing a child together through artificial insemination. Keep in mind, it was 1982, and Elizabeth Comeau, the first baby conceived in the United States via in-vitro fertilization, had been born the previous year. So, miraculously, on November 10, 1985, Tyler was born at Cedars- Sinai hospital in Los Angeles. Sadly, only 18 months after her

birth, Perry Ellis passed away from AIDS-related complications— something that was kept quiet at the time.

The young Ellis became heir to the Perry Ellis licensing empire. “The company was left to me,” she says. “We sold it in 1999. Well, my mom and the board of trustees sold it. It was a great move.” Then only 13, her silver spoon turned gold.

Tyler’s life began far from New York’s Seventh Avenue in Westwood and claims she still doesn’t have many friends in the fashion world. She attended Brentwood, a chichi K-12 school, and then Boston University. An internship with Michael Kors ignited her interest in accessories and design. Kors also served some good advice: “He told me to surround myself with the best people possible.” And that she has.

Tyler’s latest find is the Italian father and son duo who make her handbags. “They are true artisans,” she says. “I’ll send them a sketch on a notebook or a napkin, and they’ll send back a sample that looks like a real bag. They love what they do and can do it all.”

Rarely, but sometimes, things get lost in translation. On one occasion, Tyler sent drawings in centimeters; they mistakenly built the bag in inches. The bag is crafted to the exact proportion and detail, it’s just ginormous (see opposite page). “I was in Mexico at the time, and my mom called and said your suitcase arrived. I said, ‘suitcase?’ The wardrobe stylists and my yoga teacher love it.”

Aside from her felicitous life as a successful handbag designer, Tyler enjoys golfing and exploring other cultures—often on a whim. Last year, for example, Tyler and Ben took three trips to her favorite place, Tokyo, and once for a weekend getaway.

This June, the couple celebrates their fourth wedding anniversary. Tyler, a Scorpio who confesses to being very stubborn, says communication is the key to a good marriage. “I was an only child and so was he, so we’re both very independent. Neither of us is very nurturing, and we don’t need to be babied. We have masculine energy around the home. We hold hands, just no babying.” No babying, that is, until she shares their pet names. “Okay, I call him Muffin, and he calls me Bubba.”

Recently, Tyler became an executive board member of Learning Lab Ventures. “They’re doing such incredible work,” she shares, “The campus is all about education and it has such a happy spirit to it. They’re giving these kids the tools they need to go to college and succeed. Recently, they took 150 kids and their families to the King’s hockey game. It’s an awesome organization.”

The last question for Tyler is about her fantasy dinner for four. Who’s there and where is it? “My father, my mother, and my husband,” Tyler says, “We’re on a yacht on the Amalfi Coast. We’d have whole fresh branzino for four, Brussel sprouts, okra, and burgundy wine, and we’d just chat and sail away.” G