This summer the Design Archives launch a limited edition canvas bag, the outcome of a collaboration with British designer William Kroll. Founder of the design company Tender, Kroll is the great-nephew of designer Natasha Kroll whose archive is held in the Faculty of Arts. William undertook research in the archive as inspiration for his a/w12 collection, and the Design Archives bag marks this collaboration and promotes the Natasha Kroll archive.

William Kroll designed bag from material from the Natasha Kroll archive, modelled by Lily Taylor. Photograph by Barbara Taylor.

Design Archives bag by William Kroll. Model: Lily Taylor. Photographer: Barbara Taylor.

As William says, ‘while Tender is not strictly a reproduction brand – inspired by but not reproducing old garments – the history behind the products is always extremely important. Kroll advocates the value of research to designers in both historical and technical respects and as such, acts as an ambassador for Britain’s rich design heritage worldwide.

To purchase a bag to support the Design Archives visit the University online shop.

Visit Tender for more information. The collection will be available on their new online shop.

Send us a photo of your Kroll bag ‘out and about’ and we will include on our Flickr site.