This project is my graduation thesis and its concrete result is the capsule collection of handbags Mon Oncle/My Hybrids. I love movies and for a long time I was thinking about the idea to create an accessories collection based on a movie that I liked full of inspirations, and then I had the opportunity to undertake this challenge. The Jacques Tati's cinematographic poetry completely fascinated me and I chose this movie because with its many aesthetic, visual and cultural contrasts it was perfect for my project.

 

"Mon Oncle" is a 1958 movie shot in color by Jacques Tati and set in France during a period of great economic growth. This comedy tells the comic misadventures about the naive Monsieur Hulot that to babysit his young nephew is forced to move daily from its quiet old suburban neighborhood, with rustic rhythms and sounds, to the modern district full of traffic, smog, deafening sounds, factories and houses full of new technological contraptions to make life easier that paradoxically complicate it: the kingdom of his Arpel relatives and their bizarre friends.

 

Inside this story there are two opposite lifestyles and two different worlds and for this reason I designed the collection playing with the opposites to create handbags with a fusion of these antithetical characters in the better harmoniously way. The contrasts come alive through the rigidity or softness of shapes and through the use of colored leathers and sober fabrics vintage inspired mixed with metal and technological elements, overlappings and textures. The goal that I set for myself was to create handbags representing the contrasts inside the movie, shells easily wearable everyday or during sophisticated occasions by night.

 

The materials used are: a black wool-neoprene double fabric, modern but soft and vintage inspired, soft nappa leather for the linings (mauve, grey, emerald green, acid yellow) directly glued to the back of the main double fabric through a process of hot pressing with spray mastic, microfibre 18 mm as reinforcement, black calfskin for handles, shoulder straps and tabs. All seams are sharp cut. Every small metal components, flat-head studs and self-centring magnets, in addition to iron structures especially made for this project, were galvanised with gun-metal nickel-plating on a smooth base.

 

The result of this project are four handbags:

 

- Tote Bag

 

- Underarm Portfolio

 

- Evening Bag

 

- Everyday Bag

The Tote Bag is designed to be unisex. Outside it is in wool whereas the lining inside is in nappa leather green and gray. Sides and bottom of the bag are reinforced to support better the weight of the Underarm Portfolio that divides the space inside the bag, whereas front and back faces are deliberately soft and flabby. The base of the bag is constituted by an iron structure applied and fixed through a series of flat-head shaped studs. The handles are attached to the body of the bag with adjustable self-centring magnets.

The Underarm Portfolio is detachable from the Tote Bag and can be used separately. It is a wool envelope opens at the upper side which has a tablet neoprene pocket on one side and an expanding neoprene pocket on the other one. Its special characteristic is the iron U-shaped frame fixed to the envelope through a series of flat-head studs and a black leather string braided to give the aesthetic effect of fake stitches in the metal. The four calfskin tabs with snap fasteners allow to secure it firmly to the Tote Bag or to hold a shoulder strap.

The Evening Bag is designed like a shell. The entire body is reinforced inside to maintain the shape, whereas the oval sides are closed by two iron plugs and fixed to the edge through a series of flat-head shaped studs. The flap climbs down in lenght beyond the size of the bag, it has two expanding pockets with an elastic on the edge and above it there are a series of thin iron bars which come in succession. The back flap is made with soft nappa leather mauve colored and has a mirror to control one’s own make-up, inspired by vintage fifties bags. The bag can be opened using a zipper under the flap, whereas in the backside there is a patch pocket. It is equipped with a removable and adjustable shoulder strap.

The Everyday Bag is the larger version of the Evening Bag. Unlike the other bags I designed this one conversely trying to bring to exasperation the contrast between softness and rigidity, in effect I used only double nappa leather as the main material without any reinforcements. The oval sides are always closed by two iron plugs with the same technique of the Evening Bag but in this case they are more heavier than the soft body, so they will deform it and the entire structure will pull upward thanks to the shoulder strap. The green body of the bag can be opened with a zipper hidden by the flap and above it there are the same expanding pockets with an elastic on the edge to make them flat. It is equipped with a removable and adjustable shoulder strap so you can decide to wear it as a cross-body bag or as a big pochette.