Interview:Cornelian Taurus

Daisuke Iwanaga worked as designer and buyer before starting Cornelian Taurus in 2007, already creating some custom-made bags for clients as a side project. He has chosen his profession of bag making as it's still more of a craft today than apparel making and because he is able to undertake nearly all processes by himself. With his label Cornelian Taurus, Daisuke intends to merge diversity and functionality with Japanese heritage. Using the finest materials in the world, like horse, goat, ostrich and crocodile leathers and applying traditional Japanese tanning techniques to them, Cornelian Taurus is all about luxury though keeping an utilitarian design approach in mind.

Daisuke's small showroom and workspace is based in Kobe, which is about one hour away from Japan's leather tanning centre Himeji, where Shinki, the leather tanning factory of his choice, is located. Shinki has been in business for nearly 60 years and is a specialist in the subject of equine leather tanning. Daisuke visits his factory once or twice a week to discuss ways of experimenting with new colours and materials and place orders.

With the juxtaposition of this high quality tanned leather, the incorporation of heavy sea part inspired brass fittings, as Daisuke's father was an underwater construction diver and he was always surrounded by these special tools, and the durable construction through implementation of traditional Japanese techniques, Daisuke aims to express Japan's culture and identity through his designs.

LN-CC: When did you launch Cornelian Taurus?

Cornelian Taurus: The first collection was produced for Autumn/Winter 2007. For this season I worked with just one shop in Paris.

LN-CC: Can you tell us a bit about the philosophy of Cornelian Taurus?

Cornelian Taurus: There are three key points to Cornelian Taurus. Firstly, I'm Japanese, and my brand is very much connected to Japanese production. High-quality Japanese leather is very important to the brand. Secondly, Cornelian Taurus bags feature details inspired by heavy marine parts, my father was a marine engineer, and as a child I was always playing with marine gear, deep sea suits and things like that in my house. I wanted to put my family history into this brand, so I am always looking to put this element of interesting sea parts into my designs. I also want to put my personal experiences into the brand - experiences I often learn from travelling. These three parts are the key elements of the brand.

LN-CC: What were you doing before you began this brand?

Cornelian Taurus: Before I started my brand in 2007, I was working in buying and marketing for five years. I used to travel oversees four times each year, so I met a lot of designers, showroom staff and so on. Before this, I worked for about 18 months in a bag company where I got the experience of how to make bags. Then, when I was a buyer, I continued to work with bags, making made-to-order items for customers in my spare time. For seven years I was mixing my main job of marketing and buying with making a small amount of bespoke bags.

LN-CC: Where does your interest in bags come from?

Cornelian Taurus: I like clothes, but if you make clothes, you have to deal with a lot of things and a lot of items. With bags the focus is more on the production. I want to make something that is more focused on and around something you 'use' rather than something you 'wear'. Also I love working with leather.

LN-CC: Where do you source this leather?

Cornelian Taurus: I buy leather from a Japanese factory in Himeji near Kobe. It's the main city for tanning in Japan. There are probably 200-300 tanners in this city. I live in Kobe now, and I wanted to make a base in close proximity to good materials. Himeji and Kobe are very close, about one hour away. My main tanner for horse leather is the Shinki leather factory in Himeji. There are two famous tanners for horse leather in the world, one is Horween and the other one is Shinki, both of these tanners excel in the difficult Cordovan tanning technique. Tanners such as Guidi in Italy, they are working with not only horse, but as well cow. Shinki work only with horse leather, so they are good for me. About 70% of my products are made from horse, and the remaining are made of ostrich leather.

LN-CC: Can you tell us a little bit about the products that you developed especially for LN-CC?

Cornelian Taurus: John requested a very interesting and unique backpack. I have three backpack models, but John was interested in the 'Special Look' model. This model has been a feature of the brand since our first collection, it has great details and is a very energetic model. The ostrich leather used in this style is very strong.

LN-CC: Can you describe your design process?

Cornelian Taurus: I am always travelling and take inspiration from this - for example I recently went to Israel, and took inspiration from the trip which influenced both colour and design. For next season, Spring/Summer 2012, the influence will come from a different country. If I want to make an energetic model, I need to get energy and inspiration, then I can output this into my designs.

LN-CC: Do you use any special techniques during the production process?

Cornelian Taurus: One of the techniques is coating horse leather with paraffin. Paraffin coated leather is very hard and strong, after three to four months it gets softer, I like it because it has a strong energy. My speciality leather is paraffin coated horse and ostrich leather. The image of ostrich is more classical, but I want to propose a new assessment and style for ostrich leather. I have also made crocodile bags but this material is very hard, and difficult to shape. For me ostrich leather is a great material.

LN-CC: How important is Japanese heritage to your design?

Cornelian Taurus: My collections use handles that utilise a number of traditional Japanese techniques, such as rolling leather and making leather handles in the same way that traditional Japanese Katana swords are made. The handle of a bag is very important for me. Clothes can touch the skin in many places, but for bags, the main point of contact is the handle, that's why I often take inspiration from the handle.

Interview by Lilli Heinemann
Portrait by Ben Benoliel