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Master’s Intuition: A Dialogue Between Half-Century Craft and Innovative Material Behind Eclipsarc
For 2026, SOULMATTE embraces “FLOW” as our core philosophy. As the first release of the year, the design of Eclipsarc aimed to break away from our signature structured silhouettes, challenging ourselves to create the brand’s first soft-structured vegan bag. A soft-structured design is not about perfect symmetry, but rather a natural, effortless elegance. We wanted a three-dimensional body with fluid lines, allowing the front flap to drape into a naturally slouchy, crescent-like arc. To materialize this sense of flow, achieving precise harmony between cactus leather and craftsmanship was the most crucial element.
This also became a major test during our research and development process.
It's the Material or the Craft?
While closely resembling traditional genuine leather, the innovative Desserto® cactus leather possesses subtle nuances in thickness, suppleness, and structural memory. Shaping it into the perfect soft structure is akin to sculpting the same form using a slightly different texture of clay—the underlying craftsmanship details required precise fine-tuning. After over four months of repeated trials, the ideal shape remained elusive. Faced with the subtle characteristics of this innovative material, our artisans even began to doubt: “Perhaps cactus leather simply cannot replicate the natural, relaxed drape of genuine leather.”
Just as the design hit a bottleneck, the master leather crafter with fifty years of experience—my father—provided the most unwavering answer. Looking at the unfinished prototypes on the workbench, his tone was calm yet powerful:
“It’s not the material; it’s the craft.”
Wisdom of the Half Century Craft - Flow State
He then swiftly dismantled the prototype, demonstrating firsthand how to rebuild the bag’s three-dimensional framework from within. He explained that to truly showcase the cactus leather’s softness, we must not force artificial interventions, but rather “flow” with its natural curves. Provide support where structure is needed, and leave space where it needs to drape.
The now-accomplished artisans watched the master’s demonstration intently, occasionally showing gasps of sudden realization, as if transported back to their earliest days of apprenticeship. In this intergenerational dialogue of craftsmanship, the final form of Eclipsarc was born naturally.
Looking back at the refinement of the past four months, it perfectly validates the essence of “Go with the flow”—letting go of rigid control and moving with the characteristics of the material. Like the trajectory of an eclipse, the darkness will eventually recede, and the light will reveal itself.
✦ Eclipsarc Design Notes ✦
✦ Eclipsarc Design Notes ✦
- Concept: A soft-structured design embracing a natural, effortless “flow.”
- Material: Innovative Desserto® vegan cactus leather—durable, supple, and cruelty-free.
- Craftsmanship: Fine-tuned internal framework engineered with 50 years of master artisan expertise.
- Pre-order Launch: May 26, 2026 to June 9, 2026
SOULMATTE 2026 New Release: The Eclipsarc Soft-Structured Cactus Leather Bag. Await the glimmer.
