Almost two years ago, Japan’s schoolkid backpacks took the world by storm, after Zooey Deschanel was spotted with a randoseru. The craze then spread across the world, with department stores even adding more foreign staff to their stalls to satisfy the demand. The word itself is derived from ransel, which means backpack in archaic Dutch – likely a nod to how the backpack came to Japan, as it was originally introduced as a durable way for the military to hold their stuff after Western (Dutch)-style reforms. And now the randoseru is back again, but in a very sleek, mature way. Meet the Otona Ransel by Tsuchiya Kaban, surely set to be the latest It bag.
Tsuchiya Kaban has been based in Tokyo’s Adachi-ku since 1965, and has been making randoseru for decades now. For their grown-up version, the designers have definitely decided to give the satchel a more work-oriented facelift, with the usual bulkiness slimmed down, and smart features such as a separate compartment to keep important documents (up to A4 size) safe and neat. A slim laptop might even fit in there too. They’ve also used different types of high-quality leather, so that the outside is firm and sturdy enough to last as long as the original grade-schoolers’ version, while the back contains breathable leather that (hopefully) won’t make you sweat as much. One luxury 'schoolbag' indeed, and that comes with a price tag to match. With the Otona Ransel, available in black and brown, retailing for ¥100,000, it’s at least twice or thrice the price of the bags bought by (grand)parents for their offspring. That being said, they’re set to sell out as soon as they hit the shelves on November 3 at Tsuchiya Kaban stores, so get queueing if you want to be too cool for school again.
– By Kirsty Bouwers