GERTRUD & GEORGE

We are extremely proud to elaborately present lifestyle brand GERTRUD & GEORGE: the main collaborator in the very first Our Current Obsession named NOIR. The brand which is the brainchild of the very gifted Nick F. Cerutti, is a tribute to Gertrude Stein and George Sand, whose lives and respective bodies of work never ceased to redefine the art of writing and one’s perception of gender. Founded in 2001 to serve bespoke and semi-bespoke purposes prominently in Japan to begin with, GERTRUD & GEORGE nurtures an intrinsic sense of equilibrium between aesthetics, function and execution in order to conceive pristine high-end goods. Since 2011 Nick and his partner Mathieu Annen have shifted their focus towards accessories and bags, which resulted in a perfect jet-black line named The Esquire Suite, consisting of 7 models which come in three different sizes and varying river buffalo grains and depths.

I was always drawn to Japanese culture and dress codes, feudal or current. Every living moment, in Japan, has its own attire and accessory of circumstance. Its own sense of self even. Differences are subtle, sometimes barely perceptible. Yet, what is true in life is true in death too. Mourning, for instance, still means a distinct dress code – out of respect for the deceased, but not only. That je-ne-sais-quoi is inborn. In the case of women attending funerals, an all-black silhouette naturally means an all-black handbag, simple as in singular, 100% monochrome, inherited or brand new. There is a whole market for that, a market niche in fact.

“Elements of The Esquire Suite, those aimed to the Japanese market, were initially supposed to be produced in Northern Tōkyō, by professionals of the ‘mourning’ bag, with state-approved ECO-leathers. The idea, since we were aiming for an all-black line in Europe anyway, was to translate the whole ‘ceremonial’ concept to men’s goods. Quite a revolution ! But, on 11 March 2011, the Tōhoku earthquake put a nail in that coffin. 

Three months later, the production unit we had started with in Italy shut down. Back to Switzerland, we had no choice but to put everything on hold until we could ‘resurrect’, somehow. The Esquire Suite was therefore launched in January of 2014, eight years after I first sketched its signature overnighter.”

All GERTRUD & GEORGE products are produced from full-grain hides, which implies commitment and consistency, ECO-certified processes and components the genuine feel and look of which contribute to producing one-of-a-kind products with impeccable finish inside and out. These being authentic hides as opposed to polyurethane-coated bovine crusts (PU), their grain is never steady and therefore always unique. Nick and his team proudly master these genuine skins to the point of making an unprecedented signature of their use.

Nick F. Cerutti started off as a tailor. The Esquire Suite, in the way it is crafted, reflects his obsession for minute details and structure. His products, as a result, have no shape memory. Even when the bags are crushed in something like a booth, they naturally come back to their original state in a matter of seconds. And what a fine, elegant shape that is!

We truly love the extraordinary The Esquire Suite by GERTRUD & GEORGE, and look forward to see where Nick will take the brand through his aesthetic vision and rich experience.

Follow Our Current Obsessions: NOIR here.

To find out more about GERTRUD & GEORGE see here.