CREATURE COMFORTS: It’s never too late to do a collaboration. At age 95, renowned Japanese graphic designer and printmaker Kazumasa Nagai has teamed with luxury French leather goods house Moynat on a holiday capsule.
Handbags, passport cases, cardholders, notebook covers and bag charms bear vivid versions of Nagai’s quirky cartoon creatures: a lion, monkey and owl with wide-eyed stares from his ’90s catalogue, and more recent designs depicting an octopus, starfish and whale shark.
According to Nagai, “animals come in all shapes and varieties…I didn’t draw them realistically. They were all from my world expressed in a simple way with a sense of curiosity and cuteness.”
The capsule goes on sale in select Moynat boutiques from Tuesday, ranging in price from 300 euros for small leather goods up to 1,800 euros for a top-handle Duo BB bag.
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Nagai is considered a living legend in Japan in graphic design circles as a founding member of the Nippon Design Center, and as the talent behind logos for Japan Railways, Asahi Breweries and the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan.
Earlier this year, Moynat executives reached out to Nagai, who had never collaborated with a leather goods firm but was immediately intrigued by the project’s blend of haute craftsmanship and design.
“The skills of Moynat’s artisans are truly exceptional,” Nagai said. “The way the animals have been integrated into the bags, passport and card holders feel so lively.”
The graphic artist was instrumental in selecting color combinations and placement of his drawings, while Moynat’s teams were tasked with a painstaking process to print on leather without compromising a single hair on Nagai’s fuzzy creatures.
Word has it Moynat will extend the Nagai collaboration into December, when Dover Street Market Ginza will unveil another range of exclusive leather goods.
Over a career spanning more than 60 years, the Osaka-born Nagai has produced more than 1,000 posters. He has received numerous advertising and design awards and his works are held in the collections of many museums around the world.
One of Bernard Arnault’s smaller, under-the-radar brands known mostly for its ladylike, top-handle bags, Moynat prides itself on an artisanal approach based on rare raw materials and haute savoir-faire.
It operates about 25 boutiques worldwide. Founded in 1849, Moynat is five years older than Louis Vuitton and was best known for its lightweight, waterproof trunks for automobiles, which the brand collects fervently.
Arnault revived the brand in 2011 and it is controlled by the family-owned Groupe Arnault.
