The THINK BAG project created by Leather & Luxury and Loipell in collaboration with Polimoda students has paid off. The students of the Master in Bag Design and of the third year of Fashion Design Management have challenged each other to create an iconic bag for their brand. Thanks to the support and materials made available to them by some of Leather & Luxury's partners, the young designers expressed their creativity by creating designs and technical specifications for the bag, clutch, or knapsack that best reflected their personality. Let's take a quick look at the project stages and get ready to meet the winner, who will be announced by the 27th of March.
The project was divided into several stages: after an initial introductory step where the terms of the Applied Project were presented, we moved on to the Workshops for the selection of materials and accessories, followed by the Technical Review. The projects are currently in the prototype phase.
To make this possible, the students met with the project's supplier partners in several meetings to select materials. The first workshop was devoted to Agile for digital printing, Tissés by Banelli for the supply of fabrics and Ceitex for packaging. During the second workshop, CDC and Creazioni Lorenza provided chains and accessories. Finally, the third workshop was devoted to the selection of embroidery by Air Collection and leathers thanks to Guido Falcini and Materia Prima.
The next phase saw Loipell Leather Goods involved in a Technical Review regarding the feasibility and production costs of each individual project in the competition. It should not be forgotten that each student has a limited budget where both material and production costs must be included. As a result of the technical review, 10 projects (out of a total of 25) were selected for the “finals”.
"It was really exciting to see both sides of the industry working together in an environment of growth and a melting pot of creativity" - says Matteo Rovelli, THINK BAG project manager for Leather&Luxury.
In fact, the partners were extremely helpful not only with material supply but also through ad-hoc processing for each of the final projects, welcoming the students’ requests and, when necessary, trying to find a compromise as close as possible to the initial idea. This enabled the students to see first-hand the complexity of the phases following the design, which involve countless people and require many steps.
By May 30th, the winner of the Applied Project will be announced, and the prototype will be produced by Loipell with a collection of 20 pieces, which will then be sold in a well-known Florentine store chosen on the basis of the brand's philosophy and style. Additionally, in view of the reopening of the most important national and European fashion trade fairs, Leather & Luxury will give visibility to the winning project by displaying it throughout the entire event period.
Choosing the best project will not be an easy task given the variety of proposals in the competition, ranging from shoulder bags inspired by 16th century fashion or contemporary art, and elegant handbags, to sporty knapsacks, men's duffel bags, 3D printed clutches, and evening bags inspired by sex toys.
The jury will be divided into an online survey and an in-person technical jury. The online survey will be activated through the Leather&Luxury channels, where the 10 projects evaluated mainly for their aesthetic values will be shown. In fact, the online survey will be a minimal part of the final decision, which will instead be determined by the physical jury made up by: Polimoda professors, director Massimo Giornetti, representatives of Leather&Luxury, Loipell, partner suppliers, buyers and journalists who are experts in the sector. In addition to aesthetic criteria, the jury will assess the following: feasibility of the article, functionality of the bag, originality of the project, sustainability of the materials used, design, brand identity and values, and respect of the budget.
Stay tuned to discover the THINK BAG finalist projects and vote for your favourite.
