On January 31, Tsuchiya Bag Mfg. announced school bags for elementary school students who will enter school in the 2024 school year. A total of 52 products in 9 series will be available in about 40 color variations. The price range is from 60,000 yen for man-made leather to the upper 100,000 yen range for natural cowhide.
At the presentation, Tsuchiya introduced “RECO,” a genderless series that will be released in February 2021 and is not bound by the existing color scheme of “black for boys and red for girls,” “HERTE,” a new series with hand-printed patterns created by a hand-drawn family crest craftsman, and a collaborative series with “Mina Perhonen” that was released in December last year (see related article “Tsuchiya Bag’s Second Collaboration with ‘Mina Perhonen’ for School Bags for Entrance in 2024”). Tsuchiya Bag has also launched a new collaborative series with “Mina Perhonen” (related article: “Tsuchiya Bag’s second collaboration with ‘Mina Perhonen’ for school bags to be used at school entrance in 2024. Tsuchiya Bag will sell a total of six types of school bags with three newly-drawn designs in two colors each”).
RECO for FY2024 has been expanded to a total of 10 colors with the addition of two new colors: “Prism Indigo,” a denim-like blue, and “Prism Amber,” a deep camel color. The company says that the colors were determined based on the concept of colors that even adults would want. Prices range from 83,000 to 84,000 yen.
HERTE incorporates in its design a pattern drawn for this series by Seiryu Hatori Hatori, the third generation of Kyogen’s crest-joist, and stamped on the side gussets and shoulder straps. The main material used is waterproofed cowhide. It comes in two colors, “Stone Glaze” and “Frost Blue,” and is priced at 190,000 yen.
The company cites “weight reduction” as one of the topics for the FY2023 enrollment. In fact, some models in the lineup have been made 100 g lighter by changing the material of the sides of the body from cowhide to artificial leather, with the lightest model weighing approximately 1290 g, 90% lighter than the previous model. The S-shaped shoulder straps and the standing back cuff (metal fittings connecting the main body to the shoulder straps) are also features of the new models, which are said to provide a lighter and more comfortable carrying experience.
At the same time, content on how to organize items to be placed in a school bag and tips for adjusting the shoulder belt are being made available on the official Instagram page as videos to make it easier to carry. Recently, children increasingly need to carry not only textbooks but also tablet devices and supplementary materials, etc. Through these functions and initiatives, the company aims to reduce the daily burden on children.
© Source travel watch