Dimitrios Tsatsas and Esther Schulze-Tsatsas
Tsatsas’s line up of luxe sculptural bags are the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Dimitrios Tsatsas and Esther Schulze-Tsatsas. With backgrounds in industrial design and architecture fused with Dimitrios’s father’s experience in leatherwork, the Frankfurt-based label is known for its contemporary and pared back aesthetic. The range is sold on matchesfashion.com.
A Tsatsas tote
What inspired you to launch your label?
It was the lack of a contemporary puristic bag with the highest quality in material and an artisanal approach of crafting. Dimitrios searched this kind of bag for himself, but the search remained without success. So we decided to design a bag on our own that met our requirements in terms of aesthetics and execution. During the design and production process, we put all components to the test and began to develop our own vision of a modern attitude towards design and craftsmanship. That was when Tsatsas was born - even though we didn't realize it at that time. Dimitrios' father crafted the first prototype of our bag in his leather workshop. We spent countless nights and weekends fine-tuning the design, and in the end came up with Lucid, a model we are still producing today. After years of preparation, we launched Tsatsas in 2012 with a collection of five bags.
Why fashion?
We don't define bags as a fashion item. Much of how we approach our work does not in any way accord with the typical methodology of the fashion industry today - and this proves to be a challenge time and again. Due to our background in design and architecture we don't think of a bag as a seasonal trend item, but as a stand-alone product, with its unique characteristics and individual story. We put a lot of time into developing each Tsatsas model: It sometimes takes years from the initial idea to the final product. We don't design products for a particular season, as is customary in the fashion business. Instead, we work a bit like musicians - when the time has come and an album is finished, it's released. And that's what happens with a Tsatsas product, too.
What is your brand ethos?
Tsatsas stands for the interaction between shape and material, transferring traditional craftsmanship to a cutting-edge, contemporary aesthetic. Cultural awareness and the collaboration with like-minded creatives are a central part of our work, as well as the support of local craftsmanship, an ethical production and a design which is sustainable through its timelessness.
How would you describe your signature aesthetic?
It's a strong, progressive aesthetic, paired with modern clarity. But we don't associate clarity with a minimalist design: It's about ridding a product of anything superfluous, including styling and trends, and arriving at the pure product.
What was your inspiration this season?
As we are working non-seasonal, there is no defined inspiration for a period of time. We are influenced by the people, the works and the objects we encounter every day, that surround and impress us, all of which challenge us to engage with them through their presence. There is no "golden rule" when it comes to how these influences are reflected in our work. Often there are individual aspects that impact our thinking and provide the initial idea for a product: A detail of a facade, the fall of the folds of a piece of textile, a line from a song. Influences can be found waiting around every corner of our lives.
Who is your customer?
The Tsatsas customer is a strong, independent individual who has both feet on the ground. Who is interested in owning sophisticated high-quality products with a focus on responsible production and without an aesthetic date of expiry.
What are your plans for the label?
A healthy growth of our business – slow and steady, as we've achieved in the past. Being able to hold on to our values and visions. And continue collaborating with wonderful, inspiring creatives like in our projects with Dieter Rams or David Chipperfield.
