So ultimately what are the tote bags even for? To a housewife, a tote bag can be used to carry all of her groceries without paying for that extra fee of single-use plastic bags; to an office worker, however, it could be used for a scarf, for a couple of files or perhaps even an entire laptop. Day by day, the usage of tote bags is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, as its eco-friendliness is growing more and more well-known and progressively more favored. Such is the sustainability of the tote bags’ reusability.
When function meets fashion
Generally, in the field of fashion, it can take decades or even centuries for an item or a design to become a fashion symbol. Yet, it only took 20 years for the Tote bags, which were made from the most basic of industrial materials, to take off as one of the most indispensable items of any fashionista.
The tote bags first appeared in 1940, and was designed by L.L Bean, an American private retail company that originally specialised in the transports of ice. It didn’t take long for the users of the bags, as well as L.L Beans themselves, however, to realize the sheer versatility of the design, transcending simple ice carriage. So, in 1960, L.L Bean decided to reinvent the tote bag, introducing fresh fashion elements into the design but still retaining its base form. The tote bag then quickly became popular, so much so that it was the go-to item of every outdoor activity, be it for work, school or simple outing. The success was soon recognized as an ideal opportunity of easy advertisement for corporates, and capitalizing on that opportunity they sure did, printing out a series of tote bags with their logos on in promotion of their brand.
So ultimately what are the tote bags even for? To a housewife, a tote bag can be used to carry all of her groceries without paying for that extra fee of single-use plastic bags; to an office worker, however, it could be used for a scarf, for a couple of files or perhaps even an entire laptop. Day by day, the usage of tote bags is becoming increasingly ubiquitous, as its eco-friendliness is growing more and more well-known and progressively more favored. Such is the sustainability of the tote bags’ reusability.
In the process of rebranding Bát Tràng Museum(BTM) alongside M-N Associates, we have chosen the tote bags to be one of the “brand ambassadors” of the museum. The bags were minimalistically designed with the color palette solely including black and white and the distinctive font “MN Vu Thang” especially created by M-N Associates. In every nook and cranny of the characters, the imagery of pottery can be seen, meaningfully scattered, just as it would be in the confines of the museum. Coupled with the logo are pots and candle stand, censer and the ceramic boots, which are all masterworks of the late national artist Vu Thang, silhouetted on the front of the bags, in hope that these precious cultural heritages of the museum would be spread wide and far.
The Tote bags of Bat Trang Museum are currently available in two variants, namely a large horizontal version and the classic medium vertical version, both woven from unbleached and undyed canvas. So flexible is their use that, not only could you carry along your tiniest, prettiest of possessions, but you could also fit your entire world inside without looking any less aesthetically or fashionably pleasing.
To savor every beautiful moment of our tote bags being used, we have created an album on the museum’s fanpage with the hashtag #Totearound.
March/2024
Words: Lỗ Hữu Đức Anh
Photos: Lê Lai & Private Source
Translation: Tống Mạnh
