This collection is all about the handle, how we hold things, how the
handle interacts with objects, how we interact with handles and how we
carry things. In the research, the narrative shifts from handles as a
purely functional element, to the understanding of handles as the main
actor, as a decisive factor in the realization of the volume of bags. The
handles determine the shape of the bags, enabling transformation and
the functionality that goes with it.
A key element of my research and the collection lies in transformation,
the transition from one state to another. I am interested in the change
and, at the same time, the similarity between the stages. Transforming
and changing an accessory raises the question of functionality. What is
functionality in relation to a bag? How does transformation change
functionality? I want to break the narrative from
something dysfunctional to something functional, through which I do not
discover specific other areas of use, these arise in the playful process of
interacting with the bags. In my understanding, functionality lies rather in
the transformation itself.
Another central part for the research of the handles in this collection lies
in chairs. I use them as a metaphor for the accessories: The seats and
backrests represent the volume, the body of the bag, while the legs and
frame represent the handles. I draw a comparison between the
interdependence of these two elements and the function of handles in
bags. However, the two also differ in essential areas such as function,
material, mobility, and mechanisms, but it is precisely these differences
that I find very exciting when translated to bags. The chairs, armchairs,
and stools also served as key references for determining, identifying,
and applying folding mechanisms, developing new handle systems, and
in the placement of the handles on the bags. This reference is also
reflected in the choice of materials, all of which are fabrics from
furniture, from interior design and upholstery, this also links back to one
of my first reference images, a Biedermeier picture, an era of
introspection of staying inside, leaving the outside world behind.
In contrast to this stands another key research image, one of a house in
New Jersey with an airplane hangar draped over it, blurring and
breaking the clear lines between inside and outside. With the bags, I
want to achieve the same effect: the fabrics of the furniture are carried
outward through the bags.