FLOATING FORM

Malaysian heritage matters to designer Ryan Lee. We meet him at his studio to discover the secrets and skills behind his work

- Emma Chong

The Penyapu bag seems to defy gravity. Even sitting on Ryan Lee's studio work table, the bag looks like it's floating, borne aloft by layers of fluid, flowing leather tassels. But as with many things in fashion, there is no magic here—only expert craftsmanship in service of a creative vision.

The bag starts with a cylindrical base, hand-stitched together from three individual pieces of leather to form a smooth, sturdy framework. Then comes the magic by way of hours of repetitive handcrafting. Seventy-two individual strips of leather are burnished, painted, folded and then tied onto the base with mathematical precision. When all the tassels are in place, the illusion is complete: a symmetrical leather form becomes soft and weightless, full of dynamism even when sitting still.