VOGE 2011

TOOL BAGS TURNED HAUTE ART TOTES ARE THE NEW “WHAT’S THAT BAG!” TO HAVE.

“Most of the time I get visions,” says artist Adam Razak. We are sitting in his Chelsea studio discussing the bag that he and industrial designer Seth Stevens will custom-make for me. Stevens, who’s refined the functionality of a standard tool bag so that it feels like a true fashion accessory, worked with me on my carrier’s size (small), hardware (shoulder strap, please), and leather color (white). Razak, who will next draw on the bag’s blank canvas, asks me what animal I identify with (the wolf), the flowers I favor (dahlias), and my zodiac sign (Gemini). In a little more than a week I’ll have a monogrammed, titles, and numbered one-of-a-kind tote to blow even a custom couturier away. Stevens and Razak call their label The Gentlemen’s League because, they say, their pursuit of art through fashion is a classically informed, collective effort. Everyone – their customers, their friends, the small-business craftsmen they work with- is party to the line’s creative success. Keeping production in NYC is vital. “It just requires a little more running around on my part,” says Stevens. Keeping the process personal is key. “I listened to Joni Mitchell all weekend,” Razak tells me when they deliver my bag (I’d told him that Blue was my favorite of her albums). The finished product is touching. Between the handles my initials are drawm in a heart-shaped lock; a number, 009, is stamped on the bag’s leather bottom; and inside there’s a card that reads, WELCOME TO THE LEAGUE.

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