ADRIAN FURSTENBURG

Crafting bags with your name on it.

A new handbag does not always move one to tears, but your typical tote does not come with the “hyper-personalised” touches that Adrian Furstenburg incorporates into his designs. An example of a recent creation was custom-made for a client living in Johannesburg, Furstenburg ’s hometown.

On her birthday, the recipient’s husband flew in the designer, who has been based in Singapore since 2019, to present her with a special gift. Besides featuring a deep shade of yellow that perfectly matches the colour of her first-ever bag from her husband, the leather handbag also has marquage (French for marking) details replicating drawings by her young daughter as well as personal messages from her mother and grandmother. After showing The Peak a video clip of the client’s joyfully teary reaction upon receiving her gift, Furstenburg says, “She was so unbelievably happy.”

There’s plenty to like about the structured leather bags created by the designer under his eponymous line, even without the personalised details. Crafted in a small atelier in Singapore, they are made from high-quality bovine leathers from France and Italy, as well as the occasional exotic skin sourced from LVMH-owned local tannery Heng Long.

Having always envisioned having a career in fashion, Furstenburg began dabbling in handbag design while living in the United States, where he was working as a fashion stylist. In 2016, the textile designer by training won a Guess-sponsored award at the Independent Handbag Designer Awards, and the following year, he launched his brand in Johannesburg.

Two years ago, he moved to Singapore with his partner, who works in public health. He ended up shifting his production from South Africa to Singapore after meeting the aforementioned local manufacturer, whose atelier was a perfect match for Furstenburg’s “high-value, low-volume” business model. As each bag is made to order, it is cost-efficient and minimises wastage.

At the moment, the designer is focusing on growing his brand’s digital capabilities. Now in its beta phase, its website will soon have product galleries that allow visitors to play around with customisation options and view the results in 3D. Furstenburg and his business partners are also working on harnessing blockchain technology to give each bag greater traceability.

However, technology is just part of the story. Eventually, says Furstenburg, “We want to have our own stores. We have a tactile product, and we never want to lose that sense of hyper-personalisation.”