konstantin grcic upcycles convertible car soft-top roofs into SOFTOTE bag for verdeq

renowned german designer konstantin grcic has upcycled a surplus material from the automotive industry into a new bag dubbed SOFTOTE. created for berlin-based verdeq, the bag celebrates playfulness by combining two window cut-out forms into a tote bag.

images by verdeq

for the SOFTOTE for verdeq, konstantin grcic took samples from the rear-window cut-outs from the production lines of convertible car soft-top roofs. he was inspired by their raw nature and organic, round-edged forms which he successfully showcases on the final design. ‘with our bag SOFTOTE, one can see the source material very clearly, as we left the cut-outs “as is”. the cut-outs of those windows, which have really beautiful forms, were brought together to build an as simple as possible bag,’ comments the berlin-based designer.

what’s beautiful about the SOFTOTE is its obvious and forefront simplicity. just by looking at it, you can even understand how it was constructed — two fabric cut-outs of different color and shape are laid on top of each other, then folded, sewn together, next to a bottom and the handles. the raw cut edges of the materials were left intact, recalling the original material source.

‘I wanted to show verdeq’s core idea, the idea to build bags out of industrial cast-off material, convertible soft top fabric surplus, more clearly,’ grcic concludes. ‘our bag is a vehicle to tell the story of this brand and its commitment to ecological concerns and material efficiency.’

project info:

name: SOFTOTE

designer: konstantin grcic

company: VERDEQ

versions: black — grey, black — red, black

price: 160 euros