There are Many of Us: 19 bags
Karl Latraverse is a bit of a Renaissance man, self-taught in fashion, accessories and industrial design. He creates gazebos and outdoor furniture in China through his company, IDK, and previously was involved in a fashion line called Slowear.
“I need to be involved in fashion for creativity,” Latraverse said.
His latest venture, a line of fine leather bags called There are Many of Us, marks one year of production this month.
There are, in fact, 19 of them, mostly unisex, in four colours, all lined or reversible with a canvas printed cityscape of Montreal. There is Metcalfe St., and there’s the Champlain Bridge, Latraverse notes.
The bags are also transformable, with a knapsack or clutch quickly changing into a tote.
The bags are minimal but luxurious, with dyed-through Italian calf leather and minimal hardware. But it might be the philosophy of creating durable, handmade goods that is most compelling: the bags are made outside Montreal in an atelier Latraverse keeps secret. They are not mass-produced. Prices range from $120 for a passport holder to $1,500 for a leather 72-hour bag. In one year, Latraverse has opened accounts in Vietnam and Singapore, with Russia, Florence and a Chinese collaboration in the works. He sells at two fine retailers in Montreal: Reborn and Michel Brisson. He has exhibited twice at the Pitti Uomo, the massive, influential menswear fair in Florence, and now is off to London after a phone call from Quebec organizers.
“London is the perfect connection,” he said. “Expectations? I never have them, so I am never disappointed.
“To open maybe one or two accounts, that would be very nice.” More information: www. therearmanyofus.com