The coat looks like a normal down jacket – but is packed with clothes. Photo: Brunos Originals
Given the prospect of excess baggage charges, Kiwi fashion designer Bruno Harding has found a sartorial solution.
Harding and his wife had been living in Berlin for a year and a half when Covid-19 caused them to return to New Zealand in November.
While pondering how they would get all of their belongings on the plane, Harding designed a special coat to stow his clothes that gave himself 7kg extra luggage.
Bruno Harding was wearing the coat, which weighed 6.8 kg. Photo: Brunos Originals
“I always thought it was a pretty interesting idea,” he said.
“I did a little research on people who failed to do similar things, like wearing five coats and five jeans and looking kind of ridiculous.”
He went to a local flea market and got a few yards of nylon. Then he set about “creating something that mimicked a puffer jacket” by using his own clothes instead of feathers to fill them.
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He quickly realized that the key to the jacket’s success lay in folding clothing, using a method inspired by Japanese organization expert Marie Kondo.
“The first few times I just pushed it with clothes on and it looked ridiculous. I looked like a suspicious person who had stolen a lot of goods and tried to leave a shop. “
After mastering the folding technique, he managed to fit 29 pieces of clothing with a total weight of 6.8 kg in the jacket.
“It was surprisingly difficult,” said Harding.
“It felt like a blanket of fear – you were pretty reassured, which was good for this trip.”
Harding admitted he was nervous about whether or not his unique solution would fly at the airport. He had a backup plan in case the security did not accept the coat, namely to leave it in a locker at the airport and have it picked up by a friend in Germany.
But with all of the “weirdness” of traveling during a pandemic – like wearing a face mask and full face mask – nobody flinched at their coat in the end.
At some point he got too hot and he took off his coat and walked around the airport with him casually around his arm.
“I thought I was really cheating on the system now – I’m basically carrying a different bag, but it’s a jacket.”
While unpacking his jacket, Harding took hundreds of photos of the items removed and created a stop-motion video that he recently posted on Instagram.
But while the travel coat attracted a lot of interest, Harding said it was always meant to be a one-off.
“I was really hoping I wouldn’t get any messages asking if I would do them.”
In fact, every piece of clothing that Harding makes as part of his label makes Bruno’s originals, is unique and uses recycled materials such as old canvas tents and rugs.
In 2019, he worked with the outdoor gear brand Macpac to create a capsule collection of damaged products such as tents, sleeping bags and backpacks, the proceeds of which will benefit the brand’s environmental organization, Fund For Good.
The designer, currently based in Auckland, is now preparing to move to New York, but admitted that he may be trying his luck by using his travel coat for this move.
“Security at American airports is a little more terrifying … I’m not sure I want to.”
Note: The traveler does not support passengers who disregard the hand baggage rules. Passengers should check their airline’s policies and comply with any restrictions.
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Siobhan Downes
July 20, 2021
