An Intimate Conversation with Byron and Dexter Peart of WANT Les Essentials

Byron and Dexter Peart of WANT

Byron and Dexter Peart are twin brothers from Montreal and the co-founders of Want Les Essentiels, a high-end accessories brand that make luxury travel bags. 

They began their career by being the first shop in North America to import Swedish brands such as Acne and Philippa K, 20 years ago. They then branched out to make luxury travel bags which became a cult travel item for frequent flyers. Today, they have stepped away from WANT and will be pursuing something new and I can't wait to see what's next! hint: It will be home related!

This week I went to an intimate talk with Byron and Dexter on the panel hosted by Alcove Moments in Old Montreal. When I say intimate, I mean I was sitting a foot away from them in a small room of about 30 people. They spoke about how they got started and why they do what they do. It was a great evening and I feel so privileged that I got to meet and chat with them. 

They are so down to earth and have so much energy and enthusiasm it was easy to be inspired by these two!

Byron and Dexter Peart Montreal Alcove

These are some of the things I learned from the event and from speaking to them afterwards: 

  • Be confident even without knowing what will happen next
  • Don't be afraid of change
  • Always be your authentic self
  • Buy items for your life with intention 

These guys are all about making well made essential items. What does it mean for an object to be essential? These are their 4 guiding principles on everything they do. 

An item must be:

Beautiful
Intelligent
Universal
Purposeful 

They believe an item should therefore be lasting and valuable. Not something that can be thrown away or put on sale the next season. I totally agree with this! I try to follow these principles for this shop and for my life as well. It can be trying at times to not buy the mass produced items but it is worth it to invest and have items last! 

Dexter and Byron Peart of WANT at Montreal Alcove

What is the future of fashion according to the Peart brothers? Fashion that has more than one purpose and that is timeless and genderless. 

Byron and Dexter Peart Montreal even Alcove

 

Cover photo from the New York Times of the brothers in front of their New York boutique. 

Event photos from Alcove Moments


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