Yahoo Lifestyle EXCLUSIVE: The Met Museums’ Newest Bag Collab Is Inspired by 5,000 Years of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has long been one of the most visited museums in the world — with more than 5.3 million visitors flocking to its doors in 2023. From the Ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur to Pablo Picasso’s portrait of Gertrude Stein and beyond, The Met houses more than 5,000 years of global art and spans 19 curatorial departments.
Visitors and art lovers alike can now take home a piece of art with The Met’s new collaboration with accessories brand, Sprayground.
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“Our collaboration with Sprayground brings historic works of art outside the walls of the museum in a bold, contemporary way,” Josh Romm, global head of licensing at The Met, told WWD. “We hope these bags will serve as a mode of self-expression for their wearers, signaling a love of art, culture and design.”
The 17-piece collection feature and are inspired by the likes of Van Gogh’s “Wheat Field With Cypresses,” Katsushika Hokusai’s “The Great Wave,” Antonio Canova’s head of Medusa from “Perseus With the Head of Medusa,” late 17th-century Jingdezhen China’s “Vase With Poems in a Panoramic Landscape” and Ancient Egypt’s “Hippopotamus” (which is also The Met’s unofficial mascot named “William”).
When asked about standout pieces and art periods from the collection, Romm pointed to The Met Masterpieces duffel and backpack featuring a Babylonian “Panel With Striding Lion,” Giovanni Battista Tiepolo’s “Allegory of the Planets and Continents” as an overall representation of the collaboration’s ethos.
The intersection between art, fashion and history is on display every year at the Met Gala. Given the historical fashion homages seen on the first Monday of May and the ever-popular fashion exhibitions held in the Costume Institute, The Met leaning into more fashion and accessories collaborations is no surprise.
David BenDavid, Sprayground’s founder, chief executive officer and creative director, said the managers at the museum approached the company to collaborate on a collection meshing together the museum and the brand. BenDavid noted that this collection is especially meaningful as he grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., and visited the museum as a child and throughout college at the School of Visual Arts.
“I wanted to have a global perspective,” BenDavid said. “Instead of focusing on one section of the museum, I chose all. All cultures are a part of this design collaboration. I always collect maps whenever I go to museums or hikes — and I make little notes. Doodling on The Met map and turning it into a wearable product to be sold at The Met is a moment I honor.”
Romm said that the museum extended the invitation to Sprayground to explore the museum “that felt emblematic of The Met” and the result is a “capsule collection…evocative of a day spent wandering the galleries, traveling 5,000 years around the globe within the halls of The Met.”
The capsule collection’s campaign was also shot at The Met to showcase the collection in the environment it took inspiration from.
Notably, the bags include a special tag, hang tag, plaque — inspired by museum plaques — and a QR code. The QR code provides customers with detailed information about the bag and the original artwork that inspired the bag’s design. Romm explained that The Met’s mission is to “inspire curiosity and conversation about art,” hence, the incorporation of the QR code is an “ongoing invitation” for bag owners to visit the museum’s website and “begin a self-guided journey of discovery about art, history and culture.”
Previously, Sprayground collaborated with Formula E, Jaguar and Porsche on a backpack collection. The Met has recently collaborated with Lele Sadoughi and Loewe.
The 17-piece capsule collection is exclusively available on Thursday at The Met’s store and online at store.metmuseum.org. The collection will also be released on Sprayground’s website on Aug. 11.
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