The story behind a one-of-a-kind Dieter Rams purse, reborn by German leather-based model Tsatsas

In 1963, Dieter Rams designed a leather-based purse as a present for his spouse, Ingeborg. ‘A really non-public design,’ he described the accent, which for nearly half a century existed in an version of 1, out of attain from even essentially the most diehard of collectors. True to type, its design was meticulous – a sharply outlined leather-based shell with a easy high deal with, evocative of these used to accommodate electronics (Rams was collaborating with German producer Braun on the time; the design was born from prototying leather-based instances for shavers).

Many of those prototypes had been crafted in Offenbach am Major, a metropolis simply exterior of Frankfurt, Germany which has lengthy been synonymous with leatherwork. It’s there, the place Tsatsas – a leather-based items firm recognized for creating equipment with a pointy, architectural eye – was based by Esther and Dimitros Tsatsas in 2012, constructing on the latter’s longstanding hyperlinks with the area’s signature craft (Dimitros’ father ran a bag-making studio in Offenbach for a number of many years). In 2018, half a century after its unique design, Rams allowed Tsatsas to recreate the ‘931’ bag on the market (he admired Esther and Dimitros’ method, and noticed the reissue as an opportunity to pay homage to Ingeborg).

‘We now have used Dieter’s ‘Ten Ideas for Good Design’ as guiding tenets [since we founded the brand],’ say the pair of their longtime admiration for Rams’ work. ‘For us, as an architect and an industrial designer, these rules formulated from the mid-Seventies onwards resonate deeply with our design philosophy and are simple to reconcile with Dieter’s expectations of a product: creating timeless objects with a transparent design language – enduring kinds with none aesthetic expiry date.’ (The latter is proved by the way in which that the ‘931’ bag continues to look fashionable over 50 years because it was first created).

‘In 2018, Britte Siepenkothen, as trustee of the Rams Basis, seeded the concept of collaborating with Tsatsas to deliver the purse to the market,’ they clarify of the way in which the distinctive collaboration happened, a narrative at present being instructed in Vitsœ’s London retailer in a particular exhibition to coincide with London Design Competition 2025 (UK-based Vitsœ was based by Niels Vitsoe and Otto Zapf as a way to create Rams’ furnishings designs). ‘Because of their invitation, we’re capable of inform the story behind 931 inside the context of Dieter’s iconic Vitsœ merchandise. For the primary time, the exhibition will current the unique ‘931’ bag, in addition to a few of his iconic designs for Braun, which unveil the crafting course of.’

On its launch, Wallpaper* awarded the bag a Design Award for ‘Finest Belated Design’, praising its ‘extremely sensible’ design and adherence to Rams’ precept that design needs to be ‘thorough all the way down to the final element’. The Tsatsas model has just some tweaks to the unique design, together with a removable shoulder strap, magnetic fastening and blue nappa lining. ‘It’s so diminished and concurrently concise that it unavoidably calls to thoughts Rams,’ say the pair. ‘[But] whereas minimalist, it additionally has a hidden female half: when opening the bag, you uncover a large, simply accessible inside with lovely particulars corresponding to a pocket mirror and a particular compartment in your lipstick.’