16 September 2025
Embrace new uses and envision geometric designs that inspire. Let comfort and form meet in harmonious grace. Craft bags of simplicity that are functional for life’s every occasion.
Design-A-Bag (DAB) Online Competition, the leather bag designing event for designers and design students worldwide, is pleased to announce the opening of submissions for the 2026 edition. Organized by Fashion Access since 2007, this annual competition aims to foster creativity and highlight the talent of bag designers from diverse backgrounds. The competition offers participants the opportunity to showcase their unique and innovative creations to a global audience of industry professionals.
Finalists will be sponsored to attend Fashion Access 2026 in Hong Kong, which is held alongside APLF Leather and Materials+, the most international exhibition for leather and fashion manufacturing industries. The Overall DAB Winner will win a 4-week design course at Arsutoria School in Milan.
The submission deadline is 06 January 2026 (GMT+8 23:59).
DAB 2025 Recap Highlights
While the world spins with change and pace, versatility meets our shifting lifestyles.
There is no doubt that we cherish the pretty, but we often overlook purpose in our pursuit of aesthetically pleasing bags. A bag that looks lovely but fails to fulfill its role as a vessel should be regarded not as a bag, but merely as an ornament.
In response to this challenge, we proudly present the theme: New Uses/Functionalities, which invite us to reimagine what a bag can be and do. Bridging the gap between form and purpose, we wonder if a bag can integrate into the dynamic tapestry of modern life while still being elegant.
With a focus on function, simplicity and ergonomics designs, DAB2026 challenges designers to create the ultimate bag – one that showcases practicality without losing style. Using leather as the main material, each creation should harmoniously blend with the body embracing every curve and contour. The designs must not only be visually striking but also fulfil the true purpose of a bag. Each design tells a story, transforming in shape and purpose, revealing a harmony of uses.
2026 Design Direction:
1. Leather, what else? Genuine leather must be used…
and can be complemented by other natural or non-leather materials.
2. Look for inspirations and fashion indicators from archives to explore iconic bag designs for the future
Break the existing rules that had navigated us in the past years. Discover the latest trendy leathers and structures for your bag design. Participants can get inspiration from APLF Colour, Leather & Material Trends Fall-Winter 2026/27.
Please visit here for more competition guidelines.
Prizes include:
The Design-A-Bag Competition 2025 successfully concluded during APLF Hong Kong 2025, with Ms Eliane Maria Yahari from Argentina as the Winner. Her winning design, the Yvoty Bag draws inspiration from her late grandmother’s love for flowers. featuring 9 spring starflowers on each side of its exterior. Made from leather scraps, Eliane aims to give this material a second life, much like the starflower that blooms anew. Her design exemplifies exceptional craftsmanship and captures the true essence of artisanal design.
Ms Eliane Maria Yahari and her winning bag – The Yvoty Bag
Finalists
Kolongal, Uthra S Ganesh (India)
DoDo Bag, Jiang Si Mei (China)
Online Favourite Design
Tierra, Ha Phuong Vu (Singapore)
Click here to watch the design concepts of the finalists.
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