It is complete only after the time you spend together.

A new bag is at its most beautiful.

It is not unusual for people to think so.

Not a single scratch, the leather evenly colored, the shape neat and crisp.

But when I am making a leather bag,
I sometimes think the exact opposite.

This bag will look even better a few years from now.

**BELMONT** by Leather works KATSUYUKI TANAKA
is one such bag.

You use it, touch it, carry it around.

Little by little the leather changes,
and little by little it becomes part of its owner.

This bag is not complete at the moment you buy it.

Rather, that is where it begins.

A bag used for three years has something a new one does not.

BELMONT is made from
"Margot," an Italian leather.

Its surface has a fine scratch finish,
and when new it has a somewhat matte, quiet look.

But as you keep using it, it changes.

Where your hands touch it, a sheen appears,
the color gradually deepens,
and the leather itself gains depth.

It is a look it did not have when it was new.

When you see a Margot bag that has actually been used for more than three years,
its character has changed so much that it hardly seems like the same leather.

But I do not see that as deterioration.

Quite the opposite.

The time its owner has spent using it remains in the leather.

The days you took it to work.

The days you took it traveling.

The days you were caught in the rain.

The days you went out with someone special.

The days you casually set it on the passenger seat of your car.

Each of these moments builds up,
and little by little it becomes leather that belongs to you alone.

No two BELMONTs are the same.

Leather is a natural material.

The same Margot.

The same color.

The same BELMONT.

Even so,
it is impossible to make two that are exactly alike.

The way the grain appears.

The shading of the color.

Small scratches.

The fibers of the leather.

Every single hide is different.

And from there,
it changes further depending on its owner.

The places you touch most are different,
and so is how often you carry the bag.

The time it spends in the sunlight
and the place you live are different too.

So one year from now.

Three years from now.

Five years from now.

Even two BELMONTs bought on the same day
should have completely different looks.

I think this is a pleasure you can rarely experience
with uniform, mass-produced products.

Less "buying" than "starting to nurture."

There is something curious about leather goods.

Even when new,
the new state is not their finished form.

Leather that was a little stiff at first softens and settles in.

The scratches on the surface fade,
and a sheen emerges.

The handles fit your hand,
and your usual way of carrying it naturally takes shape.

As you use it for several years like this,

the feeling that it is "my bag"

grows stronger.

And interestingly,
the more a leather item reaches that point, the harder it becomes to part with.

More than when it was new,
it is after the scratches have multiplied.

After the color has changed.

After it has softened and settled in a little.

Somehow, it is at that point
that you feel the most attached to it.

I believe that this is
the greatest pleasure of owning leather goods.

I did not want it to end up as just an ordinary tote bag.

The base of BELMONT is
a very simple tote bag.

However,
I had no intention of making an ordinary tote as it was.

Its most distinctive feature is
the large flap that covers the entire bag.

This single piece
gives it a look completely different from a typical tote bag.

Classic,
yet a little rugged.

Refined,
but not too formal.

It goes with a jacket.

It goes with a T-shirt.

You can take it to work,
and use it on your days off.

When I design a bag,
there is something I always keep in mind.

That is,

"not limiting too much the situations in which it can be used."

Not a bag you can only use on special days,
but a bag you find yourself reaching for all the time.

That is how leather grows.

And it becomes
a bag that stays with you throughout your life.

The moment you pick it up, you change just a little.

The value of a good bag
is not only in carrying your things.

When you hold the bag in front of a mirror.

When you are walking through the city.

When you are heading to work.

In some passing moment,

"I'm not so bad for choosing this."

You find yourself thinking that.

I believe that, too, is part of a bag's value.

Your clothes are the same as always,
yet one bag makes you stand a little straighter.

It is just an ordinary outing,
yet you feel a little more like going out.

As you use it over the years,
the bag itself becomes part of who you are.

It is not simply about owning something expensive.

You choose it yourself,
use it yourself,
and nurture it yourself.

I hope you will enjoy a leather bag
including all of that time.

What will it look like ten years from now?

When I make a bag,
I am not only looking at it right after it is finished.

One year from now.

Three years from now.

Five years from now.

Ten years from now, if possible.

What will the bag look like?

What clothes will it be paired with?

What places will it be taken to?

I make it while imagining even these things.

If you only chase trends,
it may look dated in a few years.

That is exactly why, with BELMONT,
I aimed not for novelty
but for a form that endures.

That said,
I did not want it to be ordinary.

The result
is this shape with its large flap.

Even scratches become yours alone.

If you use a leather bag,
it will inevitably get scratched someday.

It may get wet in the rain.

Its color may change a little.

It cannot stay as it was when new forever.

But I think
that is perfectly fine.

Precisely because it is leather,
you can enjoy even those changes.

The scratches increase,
the sheen deepens,
and the color grows richer.

And before you know it,
it has become a bag completely different from the new one that sat on the shop shelf.

Even if someone else buys the same BELMONT,
it will not become the same bag.

The BELMONT you have used
is one that only you could create.

It is not complete on the day you buy it.

A new BELMONT
has only just begun.

From now on, you will touch it with your hands,

take it to work,

spend your days off with it,

and take it to all kinds of places.

Through that time,
the leather will change little by little.

And after some years have passed,

when you happen to glance at the bag,

"It's changed so much,"

a moment may come when you think that.

When it does,
try comparing it with a photo from when it was new.

Surely you will see there
not only the changes in the leather,

but also the time you have lived.

Rather than buying a finished product,
you choose a bag that you will complete yourself from here on.

BELMONT is made
for people who know how to enjoy leather in this way.

It is not complete on the day you buy it.

It is complete somewhere beyond all the time you keep using it.