Design. Treading Water and Moving Forward

Design is a odd balancing act, over reaching design statements may lead to an un-appreciated product, while staying with conventional design themes can be seen as unimaginative and boring. I prefer to break new ground by building on what has been, a historical perspective with the knowledge of how to make it contemporary. The fashion industry, it’s designers and retailers, are often at odds with one another. The retailers know what sold well last season and generally speaking they prefer , while designers want to create something new. I suppose this is why so many private label collections are put together by non-designers who design by credit card (buying bags to knock off and modify). The industry is alive with knock off artists, because the best predictor of what will sell is the recent sell through data. For me, I have come to terms with the sweep of history in Bag Design by understanding what the trends are doing, knowing what shapes are selling, and knowing bag construction well enough to add my own twist. I despise the knock off artist, but have accepted them as reality. As a mature designer, I am comfortable creating well constructed bags that are elegant in their own way. You can fake a design, but you can not fake design experience. We hope our friends and followers are drawn to the spare design statements with the combination of function and small touches of color that make our bags unique.

-THE BAG MESSENGER