來到二十一世紀，皮革仍然是日常生活中，其中一樣最容易接觸到的服裝物料，但也因為歷史包袱大，人們對皮革的觀感，似乎離不開「正式感」，「成熟」和「世故」等保守形象，好像這種物料已經變不出什麼花樣。前陣子在網購時，無意中發現這個台灣的皮飾品牌 —— The Fukei，其利用各種切裁，染色和重疊技巧，在皮革商品上呈現山脈和海洋的意象，令人耳目一新，一反皮革多年來的保守形象。
As one of the first materials used for clothing, leather has been a big part of human history since the very beginning. It is also because of this long line of history, leather gives off a conservative aura – being formal, traditional, and mature – with very little novelty. That said, Taiwanese brand The Fukei revives the material using intricate cuttings, inventive colourways, and intriguing layers to form scenic views of the mountains and oceans, just like a breath of fresh air.
「Fukei」原為日語「風景」一字的音譯，也為品牌商品風格留下註腳。在他們的各種設計商品，最受注目的大概是「富士山」系列皮夾，其用上四幅皮革，加上背面的褸空效果，疊影出日本富士山的形象。近似的商品還有「日出」和「浪潮」，同樣是以大自然為主題，把氣勢磅礴的景色，化作為微小而貼身的個人物品。而既然品牌叫作「風景」，蘊含的意味自然不限於湖光山色，像這款名作「八卦」的八角形零錢包，就把這個亞洲常見的宗教符號，融入日常生活而不覺突兀。
Fukei is a transliteration of “scenery” in Japanese, this name also says a lot about the brand and its products. Case in point is the Mount Fuji Wallet Collection, one of their most popular designs using four pieces of leather and negative space to form an imagery of the iconic volcano. The Sunrise and Wave collections also have a strong connection to nature, turning the beauty of Mother Earth into little everyday trinkets. Their storytelling goes beyond scenes of nature, for example the Bagua octagon coin purse adds a bit of spirituality into everyday life harmoniously.
如果以上都喜歡的話，可以再來看看「樹枝」這個皮包系列，使用原木樹枝加工為手把，配合方正造型的皮包，可以手挽或肩背；而明明是異材質的組合，整體看上去卻有一種說不出的和諧感。不過最令人著迷的，始終是握住「樹枝」的原木手把時，那份實實在在的觸感和份量感，帶來一種對皮革飾品的全新體驗。
If this is your style, their Twig Bag is also worth checking out. With a unique combination of a wooden handle and a structured leather body – which can be worn cross body or as a tote – the bag gives leather products a whole new interpretation. The top handle adds a sense of rawness and authenticity, a nice soothing touch to have in this modern world.
