Last night the folk at Eastpak invited Clash to join them in celebrating the 2nd edition of the Eastpak Artist Studio.
A unique project that sees the lifestyle brand team up with the charity, Designers Against AIDS (DDA), inviting artists from around the globe to create their own designs using the basic Eastpak rucksack as a starting point. This edition has seen over 130 artists from 17 different countries offer up their talents to help out, with 200 blank Eastpak bags converted into unique pieces and the likes of Johnny Marr and Marina of Marina and The Diamonds taking part.
Shoreditch venue DreamBags Jaguar Shoes played host to Wednesday night's party, with bags hanging in wooden frames and sat upon table tops surrounded by good looking boys and girls sipping beer; we took a fancy to the delightful cocktails dressed up in jam jars, surely the cutest way to deliver a drink?
Of the bags on show, those created by label COPSON ST. hung above the bar (three bags in white, black and turquoise smothered in silver studs complete with mini palm tree key rings), while artist Richie Culver's gold, silver and bronze creations had their own table. Colourful artist Julie Verhoeven's 'Magritte goes backpacking on the hippy trail' design and designer Marc Gulden's Normandy shore landscape rucksack were also favourites.
The bags are now on display until the 24th February, with half at Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes and the others at Eastpak's Carnaby Street store. From March 19th they will be available to buy from eastpak.com, with all proceeds going to DDA. Prices range from €50 to €250. Head to http://artiststudio.eastpak.com/ to take a closer look.
Words by Zoe Whitfield
