63% matchMansur Gavriel
Same unbranded Italian-leather restraint, no travel line
What changes: Handbag-led and womenswear-focused
Brand profile
WANT Les Essentiels
Montreal leather goods label making minimal, airport-named travel bags and accessories, founded in 2006 and now owned by the Robert brothers of Quartz Co.
MontrealOrigin
UnisexFocus
Minimalist / ContemporaryStyle
$$$$Price
4 brands like WANT Les Essentiels like Mansur Gavriel, Tumi, Carl Friedrik →
What to know about WANT Les Essentiels
Airport names, travel-first thinking
The core line is built around transit: the O'Hare tote, Kastrup weekender and Dayton backpack, all named after airports and shaped for moving through them.
Italian leather meets technical nylon
Bags pair Italian leather with technical nylon, which is where the high pricing sits — utilitarian minimal shapes rather than logo-driven luxury goods.
Founders left, Montreal ownership stayed
Twins Byron and Dexter Peart founded it in 2006 and exited in 2017; the label now belongs to the Montreal owners of outerwear brand Quartz Co.
If you like WANT Les Essentiels
63% match
82% matchTumi
Ballistic-nylon-and-leather travel staples, less design-led
What changes: Corporate business-travel engineering over fashion styling
80% matchCarl Friedrik
Minimalist Italian leather briefcases plus carry-on luggage
What changes: Direct-to-consumer pricing, no ready-to-wear or sneakers
74% matchPB 0110
Pared-back natural-leather bags with the same quiet logic
What changes: European-made craft focus, no technical nylon or luggage
Brand facts
WANT Les Essentiels is a Montreal leather goods and travel accessories label founded in 2006 by twin brothers Byron and Dexter Peart with partner Mark Wiltzer. It makes airport-named staples such as the O'Hare tote, Kastrup weekender and Dayton backpack in Italian leather and technical nylon, plus sneakers, small leather goods and a compact ready-to-wear range. The Pearts exited in 2017, selling to the Wiltzers' Mark Edwards Group; the brand was subsequently sold to Montreal entrepreneurs Jean-Philippe, Francois-Xavier and Guillaume Robert, owners of outerwear label Quartz Co. Design remains minimal, utilitarian and largely gender-neutral.
- Founded
- 2006
- Origin
- Montreal, Canada
- Price
- $$$$
- Focus
- Unisex
- Facts checked
- September 2026
- Styles
- Minimalist / Contemporary, Quiet luxury, Techwear