Dezeen · Creativity & design

Tote Bag-Life Jacket Hybrid Highlights Climate Change Threat

A group of New York artists has created "Lifeline," a conceptual tote bag that transforms into a self-inflating life jacket, intended to raise awareness about climate change-induced flooding.

The design, timed for New York Climate Week, uses materials from a deconstructed life vest and is meant as a commentary on consumer fashion and climate emergencies, contrasting everyday design with emergency preparedness.

The creators describe it as an "essential that shouldn't exist," questioning the conditions that necessitate such an item.

The bag features a zipper that allows a person's head to pass through, and a detached rain hood can be stored within. Inflation is activated by pulling straps, with conversion taking approximately 15 seconds.

The project intentionally uses the "language of emergency," including the color orange and the inflation mechanism, while styling and photography aim for a glamorous aesthetic to highlight the friction between normality and crisis.

The functional nature of both the tote bag and the life jacket, with the latter hidden within the former, serves as a critique of consumerism, suggesting that an "emergency is hidden within our style and our fashion."

The accompanying photoshoot depicts the bag's conversion in a subway setting, offering a stark vision of its potential utility. The artists hope Lifeline, as a "narrative object," will prompt reflection on personal choices.

Lifeline is the group's first concept, with plans to explore further ideas through design. Similar conceptual projects include a life raft couch and scale apartments highlighting housing affordability issues.

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