Backpacks Reimagined

A spotlight on Braasi Industry.

A seamless fusion of passion, innovation, and design, Braasi Industry has been redefining modern functionality since its founding in 2013. Operated from a meticulously restored factory in Prague’s dynamic Holešovice district, this family-owned brand reflects a commitment to quality, sustainability, and originality. Our favorite must-haves from Braasi are the spacious rolltop Wicker backpack, featuring a minimalist dark design with interlaced strips that combine modern elegance with rugged practicality, offering ample storage while maintaining a sleek, stylish look. Equally impressive is the large travel Cargo bag, a huge yet incredibly comfortable companion, ideal for both studio work and travel. Designed to carry everything from work essentials to travel gear, it features a timeless, durable design that adapts seamlessly to any journey.

At the heart of Braasi Industry lies a design philosophy embodying the principle “less is more.” Drawing from their architectural background, the founders, Eliska and Simon, merge practicality and aesthetics, creating products that they describe as “simple, clean, functional and stylish.” Their goal? To create designs that are cool enough for urban life yet rugged enough for outdoor adventures. Braasi’s product range reflects this ethos, with four distinct collections of backpacks —explorer and traveller, basic, urban, and X-Pac—designed to cater to various needs. The brand also offers a variety of accessories, including crossbody bags, laptop sleeves, cosmetic bags, and wool accessories, among others. In addition, Braasi has expanded into cycling with the Braasi Minivelo, an urban bicycle made to order. Apparel completes the line, complementing its versatile accessories with garments made from both natural sustainable fibres and innovative technical fabrics.

From a dining table to global markets, Braasi’s journey began with a simple idea: creating backpacks for personal use, crafted from locally sourced, high-quality materials and inspired by the minimalist aesthetics of 1980s climbing gear. Sketches evolved into hand-sewn prototypes, and when the founders’ friends started requesting their own backpacks, the first sewing machine was purchased. Demand soon outgrew the apartment-turned-workshop, where the founders transformed their family home into a factory—cutting, sewing, and packaging products from the dining table to the bedroom. A year later, the brand gained significant traction at Prague’s Design SUPERMARKET, sparking international interest.

“When designing our collections, we draw from our architectural background to combine practicality, visual aesthetics and timelessness, keeping our products simple, clean, functional, and stylish. At Braasi, we believe that less is more.”

Braasi’s current home—a former abandoned aluminium casting factory in Holešovice—reflects the founders’ architectural expertise. This carefully restored space combines industrial charm with functionality while maintaining the factory’s authentic features such as open layouts, glazed skylights, brushed concrete floors, and original ventilation systems. The factory is a self-contained universe where everything happens under one roof—from design sketches to final packaging and distribution. The design mimics a neighbourhood, complete with alleys, greenery, and operational spaces. The multifunctional layout even includes a photography studio, spaces for events and workshops, and a dedicated bike workshop where Braasi’s newest project comes to life.

Braasi’s commitment to quality and sustainability is reflected in its carefully selected materials, each chosen to ensure durability, aesthetics, and functionality. The brand uses an intriguing variety of materials, ranging from water-resistant technical fabrics like CORDURA® and X-Pac® to more unconventional choices such as repurposed parachutes and Tyvek—the same durable material used for wristbands at parties and festivals, known for being nearly impossible to rip! Their most elegant designs feature cotton canvas and premium Italian leather, two natural materials paired to age gracefully together. The canvas softens over time, while the aniline-dyed leather develops a beautiful patina, complementing each other and standing the test of time and wear. In a move towards sustainability, Braasi incorporates linen, a low-impact crop, into its clothing line and sources wool from a Lithuanian family-owned knitting mill.

Braasi Industry aims to become a development and production platform, enabling them to bring to life various ideas and projects from artists, illustrators, and commercial brands alike. Braasi’s love of collaboration springs from the exchange of ideas and perspectives, which has resulted in some of the brand’s most memorable collections.

A standout collaboration with Rap Rap—a brand founded by graphic designer Jan Kloss and rapper Josef Změlík, also known as “Idea”—resulted in the creation of the Fanny Pack and Evo II backpack. Launched in 2019, these exclusive designs are available on Rap Rap’s website and have become favorites among fans of bold, urban aesthetics. Another enduring partnership is with artist Eva Hanzalová of Paperjoe. Her striking graphics, applied to Braasi’s polyester backpacks using sublimation printing, started as a limited edition nearly a decade ago. Today, these eye-catching designs are a permanent feature, beloved by customers worldwide. Braasi has also embraced meaningful collaborations, such as its 2016 project with Matěj, a then-14-year-old artist on the autism spectrum with a passion for public transportation and map-drawing. His intricate and imaginative designs now adorn the popular Subway backpack and the Braasi Baby collection, helping to support his dream of becoming a designer. The brand’s ventures into innovation are equally impressive. One notable project is the Cryptobag, created in partnership with the Paralelní Polis initiative, part of the Institution of Cryptoanarchy. Designed to safeguard personal information, the backpack features pockets lined with a special silver-thread material that blocks all wavelengths, rendering devices untraceable when stored. While still in development for full reliability, this project exemplifies Braasi’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of functionality through technological fabrics.

From its humble beginnings in a Prague apartment to a global platform for design and collaboration, Braasi Industry is proof that great ideas grow when nurtured by passion and craftsmanship. Guided by the founders’ vision of sustainability and a balance of style and practicality, the brand’s creations are more than just accessories—they’re companions built for life’s adventures.

Backpacks Reimagined / Braasi Industry

Credits:

Brand: Braasi Industry / @braasi
Words: Camila Correa / @cami.correahg
Editor: Anca Macavei / @ancamacavei

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