MZ WALLACE was founded in 1999 by Monica Zwirner and Lucy Wallace Eustice, two native New Yorkers. Lucy had been the Senior Accessory Editor of Harpers Bazaar, and Accessory Director of Elle. Monica traveled the world, styling advertising campaigns and editorial for leading brands and international magazines. After a fortuitous meeting at the Union Square Farmer's Market, Monica and Lucy reconnected and realized they were both interested in bringing their experience and ideas on design to fruition with their own accessory company. They decided to join forces.

In May 2000, Monica and Lucy opened their own store – designed by Annabelle Selldorf – on a quiet cobbled street in SoHo. An e-commerce website soon followed, giving their out-of-town customers access to their entire collection. In 2003, they opened a second store in the Ginza neighborhood of Tokyo.

In 2007, Monica and Lucy released their signature Bedford collection – a line of lightweight, Teflon coated nylon bags at an accessible price point. The collection introduced a set of shapes that offered a superior level of function with no compromise in style.

Over twelve years later, with the addition of stores in New York's West Village and Upper East Side, and placement in over 400 specialty stores nationwide, MZ WALLACE is well on its way to becoming an American classic.

Monica Zwirner, Founder and Co-Owner

Monica Zwirner was born and raised in Manhattan. After graduation from Colorado College, where she focused on Fine Arts, she returned to New York to work as a fashion stylist. She ultimately worked on such accounts as Gucci, Clinique and Lanc'e.

In 1989, Monica moved to Europe, where she continued her fashion styling career. She worked with a wide array of high-end accounts, including Volvo, Porsche, and Hennes and Mauritz (H&M).

Over the next six years, she pursued her career as a fashion stylist based in New York and worked on magazine editorials, as well as advertising campaigns.

In 1996 Monica moved into interior design, as head of interiors for the renowned New York architect Annabelle Selldorf of Selldorf Architects. In this environment Monica honed her eye for refined elegance. There she also learned to use the unexpected combination of materials "luxurious and utilitarian" to create a new look. This technique is now part of the MZ WALLACE philosophy.

Lucy Wallace Eustice, Founder and Co-Owner

Lucy Wallace Eustice was born and raised in Manhattan. She began her career in fashion as a teenager with the French clothing company agnes b. At 19, Lucy joined master shoe designer Manolo Blahnik in New York, where she worked with the press and as store manager. In 1989, she moved to the editorial side of fashion, to the start-up magazine Mirabella as an Assistant Fashion Editor. When she left four years later to join Harper's Bazaar she was Senior Associate Accessories Editor.

At Harper's Bazaar, under the tutelage of legendary editor, Liz Tilberis, Lucy was named Senior Accessories Editor, responsible for coverage of the accessory and shoe market. She was later appointed Accessories Director at Elle in 1994.

Lucy then turned to design, joining Schwartz and Benjamin in product development. She spent half the year in Italy, working on the Anne Klein footwear lines with designers Manolo Blahnik and Patrick Cox. She later moved to Patrick Cox Company as Vice President of North American operations.