The day 61,875 people joined our live (and we didn’t want it to end)

There’s a date at Labienhecha that’s sacred: the 23rd of June, San Juan. Ever since 2019, when the first miracle happened —the day we first took our bags out onto the street to sell and came back with empty boxes— it’s become a tradition that magical things happen on that day. This year didn’t let us down. Quite the opposite: it went completely over the top.

It was our birthday party. And it was the launch of Alma. Two reasons to go live. What we didn’t imagine was what was going to happen inside.

2,103 people at once

At one point in the live, even the Metro y Medio Club were losing it: “Blimey, there are more than 2,000 people here!”. And it wasn’t dropping. People came in, stayed, asked questions, laughed. It was the first time we’d had so many people together in a live. The peak: 2,103 viewers at once.

We held on for three hours and twenty minutes. Non-stop. They squeezed the last drop of energy out of us. But we were so happy, so caught up in what was happening, that we just kept going… and going… and going. We didn’t want it to end.

At the end of the day, the number left us speechless: 61,875 people passed through that live. The biggest private access of our lives. A historic launch we never saw coming, not even close.

The Alma boom (that we didn’t see coming)

We said it just like this in a post, because it’s the truth: if you’d asked us this a week earlier, we’d never have imagined this launch would become a historic record at Labienhecha.

The two best-selling colours from minute one: black —a must, pure elegance and versatility— and red, which in this leather is stunning, no, beyond. And you, without letting us catch our breath, already asking for more colours and even an XL, briefcase-style size. Anyone got more? (Don’t give us ideas. Or do.)

When we asked what you’d loved most about the bag, to understand the boom, the answers were a beautiful downpour. And there, between the lines, was the real answer: it wasn’t just the bag. It was everything behind it.

And we kept it all. A small sample of what you wrote to us:

“You don’t make normal bags, and that’s what I love about you… you’ve got a charisma not just anyone has.”

— @estibalitzcantera

“Irene’s personal story with that design makes it even more moving. Its name, Alma, couldn’t have been better chosen.”

— @elenaexvaleriasinapellidos

“The red one has me obsesseeeeed 😍”

— @dontstopmadrid

And then MJ stepped up

Of everything that happened that day, there’s one moment we hold especially dear.

You know the Club’s eternal question: “Irene is 1.73m, how will it look on me?”. Well, that day MJ, who is a metre and a half tall, finally went for it. She came on, gorgeous as she is, to show first-hand how the bags look when you’re petite. And you can’t imagine what that meant for so many: finally seeing themselves reflected.

That gesture —one of you stepping up to help the rest— sums up better than any figure what happened on the 23rd of June.

We were 61,875. But what we’ll really remember isn’t the number.

It’s that, for more than three hours, we were one.

You can’t imagine what it means to us to feel more and more united in these lives (and always).

Long live Labienhecha. But above all, long live the Metro y Medio Club.

And remember: the door is open, whatever your height. Don’t miss the next one.