London-based bag designer Max V. Koenig revisits his Viennese roots for a collection embodying the soft textures and rich colours of his youth in the Austrian countryside, with city parks, forests and eastern alpine landscapes all combining to create a wonderfully rich colour palette. “Shapes, volumes and colours” Koenig explains, “nature and urban landscapes – without forgetting to mention tactility. It is my vision of the encounter of these elements that I want to communicate through my designs.”

There is a pastoral focus on lamb shearling here (again reminiscent of imagery Austrian Alpine regions), and The Shearling Collection also introduces the new Norma bucket bag and reimagined Auriga wallets.

The Core Collection – constituted of the staple Orion and Aquila totes – has been tastefully expanded to include a brand new backpack – the Aries, with signature shapes taking on autumn’s earthen tones and rich, varied colours, all in the softest Nubuck leather. No artificial structure is used here, Koenig allowing the natural materiality of the leather to embellist and define the soft shapes of the bags. “Touch, sight smell”, he says, “the perception of every colour as a specific message –the heightened experience of these senses is what I want to instigate through the bags I design.”

This respect for nature and natural qualities is a principle theme in Keonig’s work, his designs celebrating the use of the noble materials and the technical crafts he uses, resulting in a collection of elegant bags that follow the natural structure, grain and mobility of leather. The designs he conceives never force the material into unnatural forms or rigid shapes.

Born in Austria to French parents, Koenig grew up between Nice and Vienna, spending time absorbing both the cultural energy and brilliant colours of the Côte d’Azur and the chique urban lifestyle of Vienna. This cross- cultural upbringing and passion for travel have had a significant impact on his designs ever since, and a relocation of his atelier to London reflects the designer’s an ever-curious spirit. His search for tactile materials and expressive colours takes him all over the globe, to explore arts, crafts and cultures everywhere he travels.