High quality: Porter-Yoshida & Co
Porter-Yoshida & Co is a name that rings through the history of bag design. The Japanese label has been crafting the highest in quality carry-alls since before World War II. Throughout this time, small and incremental steps have led to a habit of gaining acclaim.
Porter-Yoshida & Co goes from the isolated reputation within the brand’s home country to international success after what must have felt like ages of tireless work. And yet, none of that applause seems to have changed how it approaches its craft. And here’s the thing about Porter-Yoshida & Co’s process – it really is a craft.
Words like that are commonly reserved for the most serious and exclusive members of the fashion class. To call something a craft implies that there’s significantly more value in what you make than money would suggest. As such, any product that comes from a crafting process is expected to be of a particularly high standard.
As it turns out, Porter-Yoshida & Co agree with that exact sentiment. Their current stature comes with some pomp and circumstance, courtesy of the wider fashion media. And yet, the label itself seems to hold to its rather diminutive roots.
Porter’s Local Roots
They don’t have any of their own manufacturing facilities. Porter-Yoshida & Co. exist in something of a paradox in this way. They are deep into their commitment to delivering the highest quality products to their consumers. And yet, could they really do this in any controllable way if they didn’t have their own on-site manufacturing operation?
Yes, they can. And what’s more, they do it well. The process by which this happens seems pretty intuitive when you think about it. Porter-Yoshida & Co works with about 50 manufacturers to craft their products.
Now, it’s important to note a few things about these accounts that the brand works with. First and foremost, they specialize in the sort of work that Porter-Yoshida & Co needs from them. Secondly, they are all based within Japan. Local craftsmanship is part of the label’s heritage and its promise of quality.
Porter-Yoshida & Co makes sure to work rather closely with these manufacturers, supervising and tracking nearly every stage of the process. From initial designs and mock-ups to the full-scale crafting, there is ample oversight. In fact, each piece that comes from these manufacturers is also labeled with unique serial numbers. Both sides of this coin – the brand and the manufacturers – take this work very seriously.
Then again, the company’s founder took his work quite seriously as well. Perhaps this had something to do with the circumstances in which the brand’s vision was first crystallized.
Some Background
A bag to carry goods
Born in 1906, Kichizo Yoshida begins his training in a particular craft in 1918. He was 12 when he learned how to put together straps and other parts of a classic leather bag.
Then, a pivotal event in the history of Japan would lead to a conclusion for Yoshida. He was 17 when the Great Kanto Earthquake happened. Somehow, he’d managed to save his possessions via a bit of a novel trick. Yoshida tied both ends of a cord to the things he was carrying and slung the cord over his shoulder.
At this point, per the brand itself, Yoshida reached the crucial conclusion that “a bag should first of all be a tool to carry goods.” That may come across as a bit of a mundane realization to most of us. But, consider the current market for bags.
Inundated with more brands and special releases than ever before, there is an equal valuation of the stylish as there is for the practical. Yoshida’s initial realization led him to a point where he knew what he wanted to craft. Establishing his company, Yoshida Kaban Seisakujo, he’d been quite stringent on what he wanted his products to be.
Yoshida’s new enterprise would look far away from fast fashion. Bags made with the Yoshida label were to be the result of meticulous, careful design and the highest quality in materials. From the man himself: “a bag that fits the owner as time passes and becomes a regular part of their lives.”
About 4 years after the company is first established, World War II rolls around. The still small company is forced to abandon production and keep their designs protected in a factory in Kandasuda-cho. There, the tools and manufacturing materials were hidden for storage.
Miraculously, this facility survived the strife of war, allowing the label to get back to work shortly after the war’s 1945 conclusion.
Then and Now
The most crucial classic designs from Porter-Yoshida & Co are the Elegant Bag and leather briefcase used in a 1963 film. The Elegant Bag was a revolutionary design that featured width customization thanks to plenty of zippers. This method is a standard feature in bags today, innovated initially by Yoshida.
The briefcase in question was specially made to be used in Akira Kurosawa’s “High and Low”. The label maintains one of the three samples made for this purpose, keeping this example of their craftsmanship for posterity. It might be surprising to hear that Yoshida’s specialties include leather bags.
In fact, their design impressed members of the highest rungs of society. In 1954, Empress Michiko was regularly seen with a Yoshida bag. Today, the brand’s reputation is more about their durable nylon bags.
Their show in Paris this summer highlighted a look at their SS 2019 collection. Rip-stop nylon, acrylic coating, and giant volume made up the bags on display. Of course, each of these latest designs carries the same distinctive logo patch that the leather cases sported from a distant past.
Past Makes Progress
The quality of Porter-Yoshida & Co bags is unmatched for a reason. Their commitment to perfecting the design process – craftsmen are instructed to spend years putting together only smaller parts – is evident in their end product.
Their background is also quite revealing of this fact, tracing the label’s origins to the pragmatic mindset of its founder. With the brand constantly innovating the technology in their bags, it’s reasonable to expect more great things from Porter-Yoshida & Co.