Eastpak RickPak

Paris Pak

Lauren Milligan

02 October 2009

EASTPAK, now famous for its design collaborations with names including Raf Simons and Eley Kishimoto, has undertaken possibly its coolest link up yet. Rick Owens, who showed his spring/summer 2010 collection in Paris yesterday (see all the photos here), has designed a collection of 11 styles for the stylish but functional label under the name of his own demin collection DRKSHDW.

The new Eastpak DRKSHDW collection by Rick Owens, photographed by Rick Owens

''One of the reasons I always lived around Hollywood Boulevard when I lived in LA was the energy and allure of the packs of wild kids that lived on those streets then," Owens explained of the inspiration behind the collection. "They were such a world away from the safe conservative town I'd come from. The colour that I call DRKSHDW comes from the layers of faded army surplus clothes and backpacks they dyed black and wore. Every once in a while I'd feed one until it let me pet it, but it usually just ended up being more trouble than it was worth."

The collection comprises different styles and sizes of bag in the DRKSHDW palette of dark shadow (black), dust (a soft warm grey) and pearl (a light optimistic tone). Bags are available at Liberty, ASOS.COM and at the Eastpak store and prices range from £50 to £200.

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While working at UnderU.com I had the chance to view the Eastpak Raf Simmons collection, and although it wasn't my cup of tea, it was quite a good, sturdy bag, but only because it's an Eastpak label. They were selling for almost £200 and we only managed to sell one while I was there.

Although Eastpak is a good label because it makes great hiking gear, and combining it with fashion is an interesting collaboration, it's trying to hit two different markets with one stone. It may not be as successful as they might hope, but at least it will bring publicity to both brands.