With her sculptural baskets, Inès Bressand is weaving the craftiest accessory of the season...
I grew up in a house with a lot of craft objects, so I’ve always used a basket on a daily basis.
My first collection of baskets was spotted on my website by Dover Street Market (DSM) Ginza in Tokyo. They have been very supportive, giving me the opportunity to work with DSM in Los Angeles and New York. I’ve been able to reach the US market through a great door!
My Akamae series is woven in Ghana using elephant grass. The bags are then sent in their simple forms to my atelier in Marseille, where I reshape and stitch the handles. My Tsaone series of backpacks is entirely stitched in France – I make the lining and handles, then the straw parts are done by a hatmaker.
For straw, it’s wild savannah grass from Ghana which is just cut, rolled and woven wet. No additional ingredients. The leather I use is tanned in France. It ages well, and gets better the more the bag is used.
I first design the bags for myself. Of course, I enjoy seeing customers adopt the baskets. It’s the combination of simple materials, skilled weavers who need to work in a fair process and a joyful customer which makes me happy – straw, hands and heart!
Now, take a look at which royal-approved designer exclusively launched her coveted handbag collection in Level Shoes.
