Nik Bentel’s Orb Bag Was Created as an Experiment in Warping Light
The futuristic handbag is based on an age-old mathematics property.
Nik Bentel has returned with another imaginative, witty bag, although his latest creation is more mathematically inclined than past releases. The New York designer of Pasta Bag acclaim has debuted his futuristic Orb Bag.
When it came to the design, Bentel wanted to create a handbag that warped light. Beyond a mere reflective surface, the designer looked to a mathematics concept called “Dupin cyclide.” A type of geometric inversion of a torus, cone or cylinder, the cyclide is essentially formed by rotating a “conic section” around an axis.
The process of the Dupin cyclide acted as a guideline for making the physical Orb Bag, which Bentel then constructed a wooden mold for. The bag is made out of acrylic and lined with metallic leather. A metal clasp is hidden on the inside and the bag is packed with a detachable leather strap.
Emphasizing the dystopian aesthetic of the Orb Bag – and the advanced technology that went into making it – Bentel opted to set a photo shoot in a desert landscape. Captured by Mia Theresa and modeled by internet artist Maya Man, the imagery emphasizes the otherworldly nature of a bag, rooted in a math concept ideated centuries ago yet constructed using the most contemporary software available.
Nik Bentel’s Orb Bag is priced at $250 USD and available now in a limited launch of just 150 units.
