Bags. Not something you purchase often, but when you do, it’s important to get it right. The consequences of not getting it right are very high. Your stuff rolling everywhere on the train high. Understanding that you shouldn’t skimp on a bag is a lesson learnt the sooner the better.
If you’ve learnt this lesson, then you should be aware that Universal Works have just announced its new collaboration with Japanese bag aficionados, master-piece, and you can be sure that these bags aren’t going to be for the skimping type. Oh and there’s also jackets.
As most good collaborations tend to, this partnership brings together both brands’ dedication to functional, everyday design. We’re told that the idea for the collaboration initially grew out of a genuine friendship after Universal Works visited master-piece’s Osaka factory and were mightily impressed by all the goings on in there.
The result of the new friendship is a collection consisting of four bags and three jackets. In order to keep on track with the title of this article we’ll resist the temptation to talk about jackets and cover the bags first. Four variations are on offer, coming in the form of a backpack, sacoche, (a big cross-body purse kind of thing) cross-body courier and a tote.
Each bag prioritises functionality and does so with features such as laptop compartments, yellow highlight zip-pullers, secure pockets, and suitcase-attachable rear tapes all being present. The chances of you spilling all your stuff on the train with one of these is minimal, which is all you want from a bag really. The partnership has also done excellently well in selecting the colours for the bags, these being a Swedish Camo print, Olive and Navy.
Presumably, because both brands thought that a collection of four bags wasn’t enough, they’ve thrown in three jackets as well. The heaviest hitter of the bunch is the Stanedge Jacket, which is a lightweight hooded number that comes in that very same Swedish Camo print. The other suspects come in the form of Parachute Field Jackets, which seems to be a sophisticated take on a military field jacket, coming in both Olive and Navy.
The collection is set to launch on the 18th of September at both the Nottingham-based retailer and master-piece stores, as well as selected retailers.
