MISMO BAGS AT PITTI UOMO 85 AND 86: EMBRACE YOUR INNER DANE

[Synthese]

MISMO BAGS AT PITTI UOMO 85 AND 86: EMBRACE YOUR INNER DANE​

Words and pictures by Jasper L​

Over the last year, I’ve found that it’s even more difficult to write about accessories in a meaningful way than it is to discuss clothing. Often, how items such as bags feel in your hands is the most important feature, and if you’re shopping on the internet, its knowledge you won’t have until you’ve made a purchase. I’ve seen more bags than I can remember that look great but are, for my purposes, completely useless. Danish brand Mismo - which is not exactly unknown - tends to do a good job producing luggage that straddles the line between

I’ll avoid saying anything about cultural tendencies, but Mismo is a rather minimal line, which Adam Bach, the co-founder and designer, is happy to point out. They produce pieces both in leather and textile, but both collections are grounded in a stripped-down, clean aesthetic that is much more visibly modern than many of the bags we’ve featured in the past. I took the time to see their display at both this January’s Pitti 85, as well as at June’s Pitti 86. So, biases out of the way: Adam is a very nice guy, who also wears SNS Herning and Common Projects in a similarly toned-down Danish style, and would probably crush our WAYWT if he were so inclined. Briefly, before moving on to the interview, I’ll say that I was pleasantly surprised by the Mismo bags. The collection isn’t small, it isn’t huge, but it is cohesive; I can easily see a person happily stocking up on Mismo goods for all situations. If you are looking for sleek, modern bags and travel goods, Mismo strikes me as an excellent place to turn your attention. This interview is a multi-parter that took place at both trade-shows, which occurred months apart, but the continuity of the collection was, like we were operating in some sort of time-bubble, mirrored by the continuity in our conversation.

Jasper L: Can you tell me how you started?

Adam Bach: Well, we started out - it’s me and my wife who have the company and do the design - we had the first products on the market back in December of 2006, and prior to that I think we spent, like, three years searching for the right manufacturers and sourcing fabrics and stuff like that; getting the first designs ready. Basically it all started out as an idea about providing some more stylish alternatives for carrying a laptop. I mean this was way back in 2003 when we got the idea, and at that time, most people were still working on desktops. Laptops were becoming more and more [common], and there were no real options to carry your laptop except for, you know, those black nylon cases. So, that was the initial idea. From there, it’s developed more into a lifestyle brand, with a full collection that ranges from small credit card holders to large travel bags.

In 2008, we added the “Canvas” collection, as we started out calling it, which has developed into our strongest line, our biggest line, which we renamed the “Fabric” collection, because we change the fabrics every season and we provide all the different styles in the collection in five different combinations, which is also five different fabrics. And then we built upon that, introducing new lines every season - this season we have developed a new winkled, shrunken leather, full-grain vegetable tanned leather, which is very thick, grainy and soft, so we do five styles in that leather. We have a new collection called the “Fusion” collection, which is sort of bridging the gap between the Fabric collection and the more classic, full-grain leather collection. We started out doing these classic leather bags back in 2006, so it’s a collection that mixes very thick canvas with our full-grain leather.

JL: Is there any guiding ethos you follow when designing bags?

AB: Less is more. We try to strip it down to its pure functionality, and then we give attention to the few things that really need to be there. So no fuss, whatsoever, about the designs. Keeping it straight and keeping it simple…There are some principles we stick to with the Fabric collection, but we can twist and turn things a little bit - every strap doesn’t have to be 2.5 cm…designing for the Fabric collection is quite easy, actually. Every season when we start we have one or two bags we think we need to have in the collection. So it’s constantly developing.

JL: Do you have a standard model that’s a seasonal favorite?

AB: We have some classics now, the backpack has probably been the best-selling style over the past couple of seasons; this shopper, which started it all - the shopper was the first style we did - this is such a simple bag, and it really laid the foundation of everything.

JL: There are more and more companies producing leather goods, and everything looks the same on the internet. How do you go about communicating what you do to the consumer?

AB: I think it’s very clear to people. One of the things we’ve known right from the beginning is that, you know, the less we try, the stronger the impact of the message is. And everybody who has seen our styles instantly thinks “Wow, this is good quality.” Because when everything is stripped down it all comes down to the materials and the craftsmanship, and that’s so important to us. We source all our fabrics in Italy - the leather is something we have custom-developed for us in Istanbul - so we try really hard to come up with the best possible materials, because that’s what it takes when we do this simplicity.

Back in January, this is where we ended. The conversation picked up six months later, when I asked Adam about designing seasonal accessories.​

JL: How do you design a spring-summer collection, especially when you might not really have the same seasonal model as a clothing brand?

AB: It’s funny. We tell ourselves that for spring-summer we need to be a bit more vibrant on the colors - or at least that we can be so - but we always end up being really pared-down, and the outcome this season is quite dark, actually. I don’t know what it is. But there are some pops of colors, like the infinity blue, the steel grey here also brings some light to it. But in terms of shapes, we always try to have a couple of these tote bags, for the beach, for summer - but we’re not that influenced by it.

JL: Now, I don’t remember the garment bags.

AB: The garment bag is a new style. But we felt that has been missing for a couple seasons - that has nothing to do with spring-summer, it’s just the right time.

JL: What’s the influence of the competition? Are you still growing, or has interest [in travel goods] tapered off?


AB: We’re still growing. Obviously we sense that competition is harder now because there’s definitely a lot more brands that have discovered this niche market and are tapping into it. Not only fewer accessory brands, but the bigger clothing brands are investing a lot in accessories and their bags. But it’s still something that’s catching on, and the guys are catching on to the accessories that they use.

JL: Do you think that the fact that you don’t focus only on leather goods helps with your appeal?

AB: [Introducing the fabric collection in 2008] was sort of the gate-opener for us. Over the last few years, that’s what people have come to know us for. Even though we try - we kept the full-grain collection - it was difficult, because the competition in the leather bags obviously there’s a higher price-point, so instead of paying the price for a Mismo leather bag - which is still very reasonable - people are buying into more well known brands. They step up into buying a Vuitton, or Mulberry, whatever, so that made it a little bit difficult with the leather bags. So this season what we’ve done is fused the full-grain leather into one collection, which also has fabric. So we sort of cancelled the full-grain collection, and now we have the fusion collection. To give it more this, like, Mismo look that people know us for.

JL: The early 2000’s, it seemed, were really defined by this sort of Scandinavian minimalism in bags and fashion - well, and everything. Do you feel like that trend is changing it all?

AB: I mean. If we were to keep pace with all the changes of time, in fashion, it’s…

JL: It’s impossible.

AB: It’s definitely impossible. We try to stick to what we believe we are good at, always pairing the fabrics with the right color of leather, always finding the right material. So, even though we have serious discussions every season about, you know, “we need to renew part of the collection,” it always ends up being very pared-down and very minimalistic. It’s what we’re good at.

JL: You can’t really go away from what you know.

AB: No, and I don’t think we should. We’re tempted once in a while, but at the end of the day, what comes out is this.

Having now seen two full collections, I see no reason that Adam and his wife should change their product, process or philosophy. The bags are contemporary, they look good, and they’re well-made. You can’t ask for much more.

F/W2014

S/S2015