Transformable Travel Bag from Leather and Upcycled Denim
Category: Design
Competitions: Africa
I designed multipurpose bag which has three pieces that can be combined to form one travel bag. The bag consists of one mini-backpack, a crossbody; the two are identical in size and shape, and a duffle bag which is bigger. This bag is useful for individuals who are traveling for short stay because they can store their belongings in the duffle and commute around with one of the smaller bags. the smaller bags are designed to fit iPad 12th gen maximum. Materials used in the bag/s are Kenyan cattle leather, recycled denim and cotton fabric for lining. Antique brass fittings are used to complement its aesthetics. Besides its utility purposes, this piece serves to heal/maintain our environment by utilizing solid wastes. There has been impulse importation of thrifted fashion into the country for a while, these garments are cheaper compared to those that are locally produced which explains their high turn over rate leading to high rate of waste generation. By upcycling this clothes, I/we will prevent the wastes from ending up in water bodies and/or landfills. I was not only looking for functionality and durability in this design but also environmental sustainability. In the uploaded images, I show the systematic process I followed from inspiration, product development through prototyping. The bag used 4 square feet of tan grain/pebbled leather, 8.5 Square Feet of Blue pebbled Leather and 3.5 Square feet of Upcycled Denim on the visible part of the it, that makes it 75% cow leather and 25% upcycled denim. the interior was done in black cotton lining and cotton canvas interlining for reinforcement. I personally crafted a prototype of the bag to test its functionality and prepared patterns that can help in mass production. Refer to the uploaded images.
