25 February 2023

Vienna-based bag label Ina Kent presented 'The Miller' bag as homage to friendship and gender fluidity

Bags named after real living persons such as the Birkin bag, Jackie bag or Kelly bag are legendary because of the prominence of the name giver. In the case of the new Ina Kent bag 'The Miller', it's the long lasting friendship between the designer Ina Kent and her friend with the name Miller that has inspired the designer to create a bag in a long-lasting unisex style. The Miller was presented without any closer details about the identity of the friend. Ina Kent founded her eponymous label in 2007 and since then has pursued the strategy of creating bags that impress with their minimalist aesthetics and practicality, instead of engraving social differences with status symbols.

For the designer, gender-fluid fashion is key for breaking down fashion stereotypes, as stated in the press release on occasion of the launch of The Miller (translated from German): "...gender-fluid fashion hits the zeitgeist. Clothing here knows no gender and the boundaries between male and female are becoming increasingly blurred. … This flowing, fluid transition is intended to free fashion from barriers and make it what it is supposed to be: the opportunity to flexibly interpret one's own identity."

Today, Ina Kent runs two own stores in Vienna and an online store. The store in the Neubaugasse 34 is explicitly mentioned in the city guide of the Vienna Tourist Board at wien.info as a recommended place to find favorite design products of the Viennese. At the online shop on inakent.com, the products are described closer with details such as in the case of the unisex bag The Miller the materials like vegetable-tanned leather or cotton-lining, or how to wear the pieces. The Miller's adjustable strap qualities allows to wear it as crossbody, shoulder, duffel or hand bag.

The label's bags can be found online (fast checked today) at several shops such as at prestigious Austrian addresses like one of the country's largest fashion retailers Kastner & Öhler on kastner-oehler.at/ina-kent-markenshop/ and European specialized shops like the Bochum, Germany based taschenklub.de/marken/ina-kent.

Images: 'The Miller' by Ina Kent. Photos: © Marlene Mautner.