Issey Miyake Bao Bao Carton Shoulder Bag

The idea behind Bao Bao is a genuinely good piece of engineering, and this bag is the clearest expression of it. The surface is polyvinyl chloride, cut into flat geometric tiles and mounted on a flexible polyester base, with nylon tape at the edges and synthetic leather at the stress points. Because every tile is rigid and nothing between them is, the bag has no fixed form at all: it lies almost flat when empty and facets outward into an irregular polyhedron as it fills, so its shape is determined by its contents rather than by its construction. That is the opposite of how a bag normally works. A conventional bag is built to hold one shape whatever you put in it, and usually needs a stiffened board base to do so. This one is built to hold none, and the geometry is what makes the absence of structure into a design rather than a failure. The visual consequence is that light hits every tile at a different angle, so the surface reads as a shifting faceted plane that changes as the bag moves and as it is loaded. A top zip closure and an interior zip pocket keep it practical, which matters on a bag whose shape is by definition unpredictable.

Sizing and dimensions

A shoulder bag whose apparent size changes with what is inside it, since the tiled construction expands and flattens rather than holding a fixed volume.

A bag that changes shape according to what is in it, and looks better for doing so, is a rare thing. The construction is unusual enough to be worth owning on its own terms.

Bao Bao is among the most recognisable things Issey Miyake's house has made, and it belongs to the same long interest in geometry and flat forms that produced the folding work in the main line.

Surface in polyvinyl chloride, base in 100% polyester, tape in 100% nylon, and synthetic leather at the trim. In black. Top zip closure with an interior zip pocket.

The faceted surface is the whole object, so it does not want to compete with a patterned outfit. Against something plain it is the only thing anyone will look at. Black makes the geometry read as shadow and edge rather than as colour.

The tiled surface is a coated synthetic rather than a textile, so it wants wiping clean with a soft damp cloth rather than any kind of laundering, and it should be kept away from heat, direct sun, and solvents, all of which are hard on PVC over time. Store it flat rather than stuffed. Our fabric care guide covers PVC, coated cloth, and bags directly.

The Lucent Bag in black and in white are the flat tote version of the same construction, and the Valley Bag is the same construction at full size. Everything we carry from Issey Miyake is listed together.