Maria del Mar Antoli

The concept for this project is to develop a brand that focuses on what a bag contains: raw materials, and the time and work involved. The aim is to remind the consumer that the finished products we all take for granted come from many different raw materials and takes many hands and hard work in their manufacturing process.

This project is not about being fashionable or trendy, its about going back to basics: a bag its just a bag and we should respect and aknowledge the resources that were involved, materials and labour; always keeping as an objective good, simple design that is appealing to the consumer.

What makes this brand special is its honest, simple message. These bag are just bags, its not about status or fashionability, it is just a well-designed, good quality product you buy to put your things in and carry around with you most of the time. The aim is to design bags that the consumer will use for many years, creating an emotional connection with them because firstly, they fulfill its function in a beautiful, simple way and also because the consumer knows where that bag came from and how it was made.

“Beauty is the oracle that speaks to us all.” Luis Barragan.

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” Mahatma Gandhi.

The visual inspiration for this project comes from the Mexican architect Luis Barragan, one of the most important architects in the Twentieth Century, particularly in Mexico. His aesthetics are recognizable by his clean lines, use of space and magnitude, and coloured walls. Like Barragan, I want to communicate the colour, textures and vibrant aesthetics of Mexico in the same way that he did in his work, focusing on the core values of beauty and simplicity. In order to do this, I needed to not only get inspiration from his architecture but also from elements of a contemporary aesthetic that I find characteristically Mexican: painted walls, volcanic rock, and Mexican white cedar furniture and fittings.