Credit: Chanel
Halfway between a design object and a functional jewel, cage bags are back: from the Birdcage Minaudière of the Chanel spring summer show to the metal box of the Dolce bag by Dolce&Gabbana. But what is hidden behind these small portable architectures? To find out, we spoke with Francesco Bencini of Creazioni Lorenza, a company specializing in metal accessories for leather goods, footwear and clothing.
It starts with the choice of material: the most popular is brass, for its workability, but aluminum is also opted for, which is very light. From the solid block of metal, a channel is obtained, that is, a hollow structure that will become the backbone of the bag. At this point, the metal mesh that constitutes the “cage” is created: this is bent using folders until it reaches the desired shape.
At this point, we move on to assembly. With brass, the mesh and channel are welded, while with aluminum the parts are joined with small screws. The closure is then assembled, a mechanical component that must be precise to the millimeter, with perfect joints to function correctly. Once the structure is finished, it ends with polishing and galvanization.
Making a metal bag is a long and meticulous job, made up of many manual steps and a large amount of material. While creating a prototype can be relatively simple, replicating it in series is a whole other story. Each material reacts differently to folding, and maintaining the precision of the mechanisms requires a very high level of control.
Cage bags are hybrid objects that combine the creativity of fashion with technical engineering. The result is the fruit of artisanal savoir-faire that requires high skills, both at a manual and design level.
