While my most favorite things to buy for myself are bags, I can’t say I enjoy buying bags for other people, particularly men. There just isn’t enough variety in the market; they’re either too formal (leather shoulder bags), too casual (backpacks) or too adventurous (leather clutch bags).
However, a new brand I discovered recently neatly side-steps all of the above limitations by combining classic bag silhouettes with innovative materials. While the line is specifically designed for men, I would say that a lot of the pieces could be unisex as well.
Designed by New York-based architect Tom Pen, Mad Rabbit Kicking Tiger (M.R.K.T.) has satchels, totes, backpacks and weekenders rendered in five different materials: smart felt, super felt, micro suede, micro leather and vegan leather.
A bit of education on these materials: M.R.K.T. uses high-quality felt from a German supplier who also supplies felt to luxury brands like Hermes. (While the famed French company uses wool felt, M.R.K.T., an animal-friendly company, sources synthetic felt.)
Its smart felt is a thicker, more durable version of the usual felt people see—fuzzy, dense, smooth to touch. On the other hand, its super felt was created by melting the surface of smart felt, creating a glossy finish. Micro suede and micro leather, meanwhile, mimic the texture and feel of actual leather, but are also animal-friendly.
Classic silhouettes
“I like really classic silhouettes because I think when we do it, it’s very different because our materials and our colors actually make it different,” says Pen.
“Our felt and our micro fiber are considered nonwoven materials, so what that means is we can have a very clean cut to them, versus regular fabric, which needs a lot of trimming and so forth. With felt and micro fiber, it’s very clean. So even the classical silhouettes look modern when we use our material and our technique of making them.”
He’s not the only one in fashion catching up to the felt trend.
“Just last spring, Adidas came out with this line of felt shoes that people thought came from us because it was the same felt that we use. I see a lot of other shoe brands using felt, and just the other day, I saw felt wallpaper. So a lot of different brands are using felt for this coming Fall/Winter, and it makes me feel like we’re a little bit ahead,” says Pen.
Unlike leather, which is still a popular material for many bags in the market, felt is not only water- and weather-proof, it’s also more affordable.
“The majority of our bags are for daily use, like commuting to work and back. Our customer is someone who maybe can’t afford a crazy luxury bag, but does want something unique and interesting,” says M.R.K.T. marketing director Shaun Nath.
“The bags are very conceptual and design-centric. They’re something you could use every day, both from the price points of the bags and their functionality. We don’t want people to be afraid to use them.”
Bold colors
A Harvard-trained architect, Pen is inspired by Dutch architects like Rem Koolhaas and architecture group MVRDV who “use a lot of colors. It’s like minimalism with very bold colors.”
“When you see their architecture and then you look at our bags, it’ll make a lot of sense,” adds Nath.
Architectural details include triangle laser cutouts that appear on the surface of some of the bags.
“They are supposed to mimic the light-and-shadow effect on a grid of windows of a building façade, much like an Aldo Rossi building,” says Pen.
His approach to design is similar to how he came up with the name Mad Rabbit Kicking Tiger: “I didn’t think there were any rules. I just created something that’s fun. And anybody can interpret it in slightly different ways.”
While the brand is looking into expanding its range to include items like footwear and optical glasses, those plans are still in the works, with Pen and Nath collaborating with other brands.
“I think that would be cool, to see our DNA in different types of products. And for us, it’s a way to work with other creative people,” says Nath.
As for working with different materials, Pen says he’s still “in love” with felt and is currently looking for more innovative ways to source it. “We’re talking to our suppliers about waste materials or old bags, and how we can use them to feed back into the process of remaking the felt,” he says.
Mad Rabbit Kicking Tiger is available at all Bratpack stores. For more information and a list of store locations, visit bratpackstore.com