The mini-bags of the future imagined by students at the London College of Fashion, UAL. This creative contest developed by Lineapelle in partnership with the British college involved 15 students from BA Cordwainers Fashion Bags and Accessories Product Design and Innovation courses. These students explored design ideas for making mini-bags and small leather goods using leather cuttings in a sustainable and innovative way.
The mini-bags of the future
The creations resulting from the project found an ideal showcase as part of Lineapelle 102 (Fieramilano Rho, september 19/21). On display at the fair were prototypes made by the four winning students, Lan Chi Vuong, Natasha Montesinos, Stella Yan Q and Oliver Bowater. The latter presented the Contact Mini Bag project with a handcrafted prototype alongside one optimized by D-House Laboratorio Urbano using cutting-edge technology. It is a professional reworking performed by combining various processes. For example, 3D printing directly onto leather and digital embroidery.
Oliver Bowater’s experience
“I love to design accessories using leather in unconventional ways, mixing organic, modern silhouettes with traditional-looking leathers”, Bowater says. “The versatility of leather is an integral part of my design process. Its beauty as a material lies in its malleability. The processes that can be applied to leather are something I find fascinating, and I always try to incorporate them into my design”. Inspired by Dries Van Noten, the student used leather cutouts while applying the inlay technique.
