Startup fashion brand The Atelier YUL has designed a range of minimal cases for architects transporting their papers and models.
The Atelier YUL founder Cece de la Montagne, an architect herself, was motivated to create the collection after struggling to find a "functional and elegant" bag to transport her drawings and models.
The collection features four carryalls, each handmade from leather. De la Montagne looked to a number of references when designing the collection, including modernist forms, Japanese tea rooms and Roman architectural principles of strength, function and beauty.
"These influences are distilled into a minimal design expression," she said. "Each piece showcases a basic, functional beauty that achieves more with less – a theme that's consistent throughout the collection."
The collection's large, flat Folio bag includes a shoulder strap and offers plenty of space for architects needing to carry large drawings, while the Tube is designed for rolled-up papers and posters.
The Sacoche bag features a flat bottom for storing architectural models, and the Envelope is a simple fold-over bag aimed at those travelling with smaller documents or devices. Each design has detachable straps and bungee cord closures.
De la Montagne is by no means the first to create products for architects, with Nendo collaborating with Tods on a bag that could change shape depending on the size of the drawings needing to be carried.
Another perennial favourite with architects and designers, Issey Miyake's Bao Bao bag, recently received an update. The Chord collection adds new shapes including arrows, circles and lighting bolts to the bag's tessellating exterior.