He actually only wanted a solid travel bag so he could unpack his shirts without creases and the need to iron. But the Swiss man with Indian roots and a love of Italy could not have imagined that this wish would later create his own product line. At «Brocki» Achill Prakash found exactly the model he was looking for, with the leather fitted onto a wooden frame, only unfortunately without the fashionable slant he would have liked. The outcome in Milan was disappointing, the quality he found even more so. But he did meet a 75 year old who still mastered this art. And so by complete coincidence he began the search for suitable leather and the creation of his own bag collection. The name «Alvener» comes from Rhaeto-Romanic and means black-white. The perfect name for a product that knows no compromise with regard to quality.
He found the leather in Tuscany. It is tanned without ammonia in a natural plant-based procedure. Thanks to the long production process it remains soft and extremely robust at the same time. After countless attempts a unique color was created which suits everything. Depending on how the light falls and on the surroundings, it may appear black or sometimes brown. And the best thing: the leather develops a wonderful patina over time and becomes increasingly more beautiful the more it is used. The search for the perfect zip was not easy, each link should snap in cleanly and with Swiss precision without sticking. At the Paris trade fair a small producer from Bergamo recognized the Swiss man’s passion and consented to an order quantity which every other retailer would have turned down with a smirk.
That’s how the precious zip in gold and dark green from the Lombardy family company was integrated into the material in an unpretentious and yet accentuated way. The inter material was also selected with the same degree of care – wool interwoven with wood of the highest quality from the English manufacturer Holland & Sherry, which holds for years without ripping. Here again no compromise, not even on the interior.
An Alvener bag is produced on a small scale. It takes roughly 16 hours until the Signature Weekender has been made by hand. However, the price is honest, like the product itself.
Photos Copyrights: Achill Prakash
