Product Design: Alexander Penkin bags a beauty with his redesigned totes

Date
20 August 2013

The tote bag became big when we gave up on the idea that we’d one day get around to using all of those plastic bags that were stuffed inside one another and lodged in a drawer. Less of an eyesore, totes came swaggering onto the market to couple with illustrators, designers, artists and record labels. The tote bagged them all and we loved them for it, so much so that they began to stack up, hidden guiltily beneath coats in their plenty, savoured by their users as fashion statements, edging dangerously close to the passé.

Then Alexander Penkin came to the rescue and “challenged the status quo of the seemingly boring object” and well, let’s just say that everyday tote has been surpassed. What’s more, he has made them a thing of intrigue, layering them with pockets, snazzy finger holes, or giving no space for contents at all. There’s even a man-sized bag. Grab it, swing it, put it around your head or fall asleep in it, just use your tote well.

Above

Alexander Penkin: Thinking Outside the Bag

Above

Alexander Penkin: Thinking Outside the Bag

Above

Alexander Penkin: Thinking Outside the Bag

Above

Alexander Penkin: Thinking Outside the Bag

Above

Alexander Penkin: Thinking Outside the Bag

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About the Author

Emily Beber

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