Backstreet Boys’ Howie Dorough, wife Leigh launch luxury handbag line
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Holding a green clutch from her newly created Eslla vegan handbag line, Leigh Dorough ran her fingers across the exterior, which — in an eco-friendly twist — is crafted from cactus-based leather.
“I feel like it has the same suppleness. It’s a luxurious product. The construction is on par with any luxury brand,” Dorough said, sitting on her couch next to her husband, Howie D of the Backstreet Boys.
“And when you look at and feel the purse, you realize that there really is a great alternative — and that you don’t have to destroy our planet to create something beautiful,” she said.
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Eslla is a startup “ethically sourced luxury leather alternative” handbag brand co-founded by Leigh Dorough and her friend of more than a decade, Charlotte Wienckoski. The fledgling company offers merchandise on its website at https://eslla.com, with hopes of moving into retail stores in the near future.
The Doroughs and Wienckoski, who live in Indian Harbor Beach, organized a black-attire Eslla “soft-launch” party for 250 to 300 guests Friday night at the Lansing Island Clubhouse.
“I’m just very proud. I’m very supportive,” said Howie D, who is partnering on the project. “I’ve always known Leigh as a go-getter. She’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit. She’s very business-oriented.”
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Wienckoski and Leigh Dorough have conceived and developed Eslla since 2020, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. After sketching styles and brainstorming ideas, Wienckoski said they hired London handbag designer Carianne Moore and created their first prototype in August 2021.
The Eslla website offers three handbags — Dharma Crossbody ($455), Satori Clutch ($385) and Seva Tote ($535) — in four colors: White Star, Green Helen, Matte Black and Beige Sand.
To produce the handbags, they partnered with Desserto, a Mexican company founded in 2019 that creates alternative leather from prickly pear cactus leaves.
“Some handbags are inexpensive, and they call themselves vegan. You think you’re buying something great. But it’s made out of PVC — which is essentially plastic. And it goes into the landfills,” Leigh Dorough said.
“It’s like using a disposable water bottle,” she said.
Wienckoski’s husband, Tom, and brother Chris Rossi are also partnering on the Eslla launch. In May, Tom Wienckoski flew to Mexico to discuss the startup with the owners of Desserto and Howie D before a Backstreet Boys concert in Mexico City.
Eslla’s initial handbag production run wrapped up last month.
“Obviously, we’re going to be launching heavily on social media, doing social-media advertising. We’re going to work with some influencers,” Charlotte Wienckoski said.
“In addition to that, we will start working on spring and summer for next year: ‘OK, are we changing any of the designs? Are we adding different colors? And then thirdly, what other products are we going to introduce?’ she asked.
“We don’t want it to just be a three-purse line. Eventually, we’ll have different shapes, different sizes of purses, different types of other accessories, even maybe belts. The market has been a complete education for me, things that I wasn’t aware of — and I was just blown away by the industry,” she said.
From a multi-platinum career to building a multi-million dollar complex
Aside from his multi-platinum musical career singing with the Backstreet Boys, Howie D has made a mark on the Space Coast’s construction scene. He and his brother John operate Dorough Brothers Development & Consulting, a Winter Park real estate development firm that is building The Surf, a $35 million mixed-use condominium complex in downtown Cocoa Beach.
The brothers’ other Brevard County projects include Flores Ocean Suites in Avon-by-the-Sea (15 units, completed July 2000), Flores del Mar in Cape Canaveral (33 units, completed June 2002), Flores de la Playa in Satellite Beach. (18 units, completed October 2003), Flores de la Costa in Avon-by-the-Sea (14 units, completed June 2019) and Country Inn & Suites in Cape Canaveral (opened 2006).
A groundbreaking ceremony took place in March 2021 for The Surf, an oceanfront condo complex featuring ground-level retail space and a second-floor swimming pool between Minutemen Causeway and North First Street. Howie D said he hopes crews wrap up work within eight months.
“We’re getting closer and closer. Unfortunately — along with everyone in construction — we’ve had to deal with the ups and downs of delays. Probably, our biggest delay was getting in windows and framing on the outside,” Howie D said. .
Leigh Dorough is a vegetarian, and she said Eslla’s mission fits with her longstanding entrepreneurial plans.
“We’ve always talked about different ideas over the years. I wasn’t always a mom and a homemaker. I was a producer for Warner Bros., and I had a career before this,” she said.
“I was a webmaster for the Backstreet Boys — that’s how Howie and I met. And I’ve always wanted to do something else as my children got older. And Charlotte has always been encouraging me to find the right thing,” she said.
“I grew up in a house where my mother was a holistic doctor. We were recycling in the ’70s. She was always ahead of her time with that. So it really resonated with me, and Howie’s always known me in that way,” she said.
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The Backstreet Boys’ ninth studio album, “DNA,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in February 2019. The band is still wrapping up its world tour, which was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Howie D will hit the road Oct. 3 in Lisbon, Portugal, to kick off a Backstreet Boys tour across Europe with subsequent stops in Spain, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, the United Kingdom and Belgium.
In tandem, “A Very Backstreet Christmas” — the band’s first holiday record — is scheduled for release on Oct. 14.
Howie D said he will also focus on promoting Eslla to introduce its eco-friendly handbags to consumers.
“Now, I feel that my value is going to come in to get the outreach — to our fans, especially, because I think our fans will eat this up. Especially in the price range that it’s in,” Howie D said.
“To me, it looks like a $2,000 purse for ¼ of the price,” he said.
“It’s going to be right in that sweet price point for our fans who want a little something nice, but don’t really want to break the bank.”
Rick Neale is the South Brevard Watchdog Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or [email protected]. Twitter: @RickNeale1
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