Unboxing Côte&Ciel Smaller Goods
A mix of high-quality and bizzare.
Remember I posted about the twisted shoulder straps on my côte&ciel Isar backpack? After posting the review of the bag, I contacted the brand via IG, asking whether they offer a guarantee or repair services. They told me they’d never heard about such a problem before and asked me to send in the bag, which I did. Unfortunately, they were not able to offer me a repair. But when returning the bag back, they were way too generous to add three of the brand’s latest accessories.
Full disclosure: the brand didn’t ask me for anything in return, and they don’t know I’m posting this.
So the three accessories the brand supplied me with are the Adda (a shoulder strap), the Aóos S (a small circular bag), and the Aóos Nano (a tiny circular bag). The latter one is so minute that I found it only by accident when flipping the shipping box😅
I find all three accessories to be pretty bizarre. The Adda shoulder strap is literally just a strap without a bag. Well, it has a full-length pocket with a two-way zipper, but it fits a phone and a 0,5 bottle at max. The Aóos S reminds me of travel vanity kits with numerous mesh pockets. You can fit a paper notebook, a pan, a small wallet, lipstick, and other smallish items. But its shell-like opening means you gotta be careful because one of the sides always opens upside down. Lastly, the Aóos Nano is so tiny it’s basically an AirPods Pro case. I was barely able to add a key and lipstick in there.
With that being said, all three are incredibly well-built. You don’t know what’s the function, but you can sense the quality and attention to detail upon the very first touch. Most hardware — lockable loops, carabiners, zippers — feels metallic. The pulls are either made of leather (with skillfully embossed branding) or sealed in rubber. Every item can be attached to one another (or any other loop of your choice).
I may not know how to use it, but I'm in love solely with the way it’s built.
This brings me to the broader topic of what good design is. It's either so utilitarian there is basically no design. Or it's unique in a way it inspires you to experiment within given constraints. For me, côte&ciel definitely falls into the latter.
I will update you as I learn how to wear these creatures.