An American Pastime Becomes a Japanese It Bag

According to designer Hikaru Matsumura, "There are many good bags, but very few with wit." To address this void in the accessories market, Matsumura, who has designed at Issey Miyake since 1993, conceived of the Unique Bag Project, playing matchmaker with an artisan baseball glove maker in Osaka and handbag craftsmen from the Issey Miyake umbrella. The utterly original lovechild produced from this unusual collaboration is a series of handbags that riff on classic baseball mitt design tropes—the lacing, glove pocket, webbing and rivets—and integrate them into richly detailed bags that may sound cheeky in theory but are thoroughly stunning in reality.

The baseball glove bags are the first batch of accessories to come out of the Unique Bag Project, and two lines—the C-Series and R-Series—have been released thus far. The models, constructed primarily out of leather and nylon, range from black to white to army green, with lacing and intricately woven leather strips figuring prominently in all the designs. And the level of craftsmanship is jaw-dropping—the bags are put together from 184 parts that go through 775 processes. (For point of reference, the average bag requires about half as much work.)

Matsumura has certainly grabbed our attention with his unorthodox approach, and it looks like more innovation is on the way. Next season, he plans to collaborate with the top Kendo (traditional Japanese fencing) manufacturer on a Unique new installment.

—Misha Janette