Markus Freitag was a young bike messenger in need of a good bag – so the story goes – on a snowy day in Zurich when he stumbled across some unwanted lorry tarpaulin and tyres on the side of the motorway. The proverbial light bulb flashed above his head and before long Freitag’s baby was born, named after him and grew up into a Trendy Young Thing. And, like any TYT, it has now moved to Berlin to be with other TYTs.
Launched in May with a fabulously recession-proof Mitte party replete with flowing champagne and celebrity guests, the Mitte flagship store features concrete, couches and catwalk lighting – all of which provides the perfect backdrop for 1,600 colourful, durable bags in every shape (tote, clutch, laptop, satchel etc) imaginable. They’re all made in Zurich (hence the prices: €100- €150 for a bag; €60-plus for a Mac sleeve) and still entirely crafted from materials fresh off a Swiss motorway. So head on down to Mitte, open those fun little shoebox drawers and start agonising over which bag to leave with.
