Designer Isa Kauffman’s innovative “inside-out bags” place emphasis on construction and storytelling without sacrificing quality or relevance
- Who is it? Dentro is the Paris-based Italian-made leather accessories label headed by designer Isa Kauffman
- Why do I want it? The brand’s “inside-out bags” place emphasis on construction and storytelling without sacrificing quality or relevance
- Where can I find it? Dentro is available directly through brand’s website as well as via Luisaviaroma, Browns, SSENSE, Moda Operandi, Addition Adelaide, among others
Who is it? With a background in fine arts and fashion design, a pivot towards leather goods seemed inevitable for Brazil-born designer Isa Kauffman. In fact, it was during her master’s degree specialising in ready-to-wear fashion at the Institut français de la mode in Paris that the program’s director pointed out that she “wasn’t doing clothing” but was “making objects”. “It was a lightbulb moment for me,” recalls Kauffman. “There is something in bags that feels very sculptural, and I’d been making sculptures since I was a little girl.” Leather goods design, with its specific blend of utility and conceptuality, was an organic approach for the designer to “tell a story on its own, without necessarily having a body there”.
Kauffman found her stride working at Prada, Bottega Veneta, and then at Acne Studios as head accessories designer, in charge of “women’s accessories, men’s accessories, and everything in between, from belts to collaborations.” Alongside, she consulted for the likes of Y/Project, Kiko Kostadinov and Medea, which gave her the opportunity to add her “piece of the puzzle into different brands”. “It’s a nice place to be because I can do things that become iconic or are just super conceptual and crazy,” she explains, “and then I get to see all kinds of people walking around with the different designs.”
Although the designer never had the intention of launching her own brand, during the Covid-19 pandemic she was approached by a factory in Verona, with whom she’d worked previously on projects for Y/Project and Medea, to launch a brand of her own. “To launch a brand seemed super stressful and – spoiler alert – it is,” she laughs, “but I already had a relationship with the factory, they knew what I was into, very conceptual stuff, so it seemed like the right time.”
Kauffman pitched the idea of making “inside-out bags” (dentro means ‘inside’ in Italian), with the intention of valorising craftsmanship and process, as well as form and quality. “Even though, at first, the factory thought it was weird to do things inside-out – to show the foam, to put the nicer part on the inside – they are super dedicated to the project. To have the opportunity to work with other people who are really involved and want to make Dentro work is special.”
Why do I want it? Now in her fifth season, Kauffman’s sublime designs continue to expand the notion of luxury leather goods beyond the final, static product. By taking recognisable forms, such as the doctor’s bag and the bowling bag, and then scrambling the natural, expected order of its parts, Kauffman rivets our attention on process: “You know from afar that it feels like a bag, but when you get closer, you’re like, ‘Hmm, there’s something here. There’s something twisted.’” Sculptural in their playful proportions, the bags remain functional and suitable for urban living – the elongated doctor’s bag neatly fits a bottle of wine.
In each design, the layers of construction are artfully, and purposefully, revealed. The signature draping cord of the Baguette shoulder bag is simply an extension of the material found in all tubular handles. Similarly, threads are left hanging from the seams of the Otto crossover bag, adding movement to what is otherwise an immobile object. “With the movement comes a journey of discovery of the different components of the bag,” explains Kauffman of the dynamic detailing, which also serves as a “tiny bridge between ready-to-wear and accessories.”
All Dentro’s bags are made in Italy in a factory that, aside from the owner and pattern-cutter, is female-operated. The quality leathers are all sourced from a tannery in Veneto, where the material is treated in a way so as to use 70 per cent less water – and the water that is used is all recycled, chrome-free, and metal-free. These invested relationships are key to Dentro’s success and by tracing the construction process in the final product, Kauffman beautifully pays due recognition to each person involved in the making of the bag.
As Dentro continues to grow, Kauffman hopes to expand the label into other worlds through projects with other creatives. At the end of July, the brand will release a series of bags as part of an ongoing collaboration with ready-to-wear designer Edward Cuming. “What I built with Dentro, is a logic of design. It’s not just a product. I can apply it to whatever,” says Kauffman, “And that’s the fun part of it.”
Where can I find it? Dentro is available directly through brand’s website as well as via Luisaviaroma, Browns, SSENSE, Moda Operandi, Addition Adelaide, among others.
