PHOTO COURTESY OF PABEPABE
Bags with on-off switches, silhouettes inspired by rubber boots and even designs with functional flutes. These are the playful hallmarks of PabePabe, the Hong Kong-based label now gaining international traction. From its pop-up beginnings, it has expanded to online stockists like CLUB21, HBX and Selfridges. Naturally, its newest Knob bag arrives within this same spirit of irreverence and invention.
Meanwhile, the brand continues to build a following across Southeast Asia, particularly in Thailand and the Philippines. More recently, it collaborated with designer Robert Wun to create bags for his couture show. This move further cements its reputation for inventive, conversation-starting accessories. As a result, PabePabe continues to blur the line between practical function and irreverent design.
Enter the latest signature creation. True to form, the Knob bag embraces a whimsical approach with a distinctly shaped flap. At the front, a door-knob lock detail anchors the design, together with an accompanying logo key charm. At first glance, it brings a smile to your face, then lingers in your mind long after. In the most delightful sense, it’s a bag that quite literally opens its own door.
However, this goes beyond a simple visual pun. The execution of the metaphor feels deliberate and precise. Opening a bag is, of course, an action you perform many times a day. But now, this familiar gesture becomes something newly conscious, almost theatrical. Instead of fumbling with a clasp, you are quite literally being let in to retrieve your belongings.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PABEPABE
Equally, the Knob bag delivers on practicality across mini, small and large sizes, with the largest fitting a laptop. The concept extends into a vertical hobo, with a carryall also featuring the signature door-knob detail already on the horizon. Materials-wise, the bag comes in leather, suede and iterations that combine canvas, giving the fans plenty of options to love.
Prices start at SGD242 for the Knob Mini at PabePabe’s online store. The Knob bag, in all likelihood, will bring joy to your daily routine. It will, with absolute certainty, start conversations you wouldn’t expect to have.
