bag2back
We have each other's back.
bag2back is a limited capsule collection, created together with the impressive artist Irena Pejčić. Irena lives and works in Vienna, has Bosnian roots, and explores socially charged subjects in her art.
Every bag is handmade in our Vienna atelier by women with refugee and migration backgrounds, and the collection is limited to 30 pieces.
For the women no one sees
With this collection, we want to make unseen women visible.
Women with refugee and migration backgrounds start a new life in a new country, with courage and dignity. They leave their homes because of economic hardship, political persecution or war. And along the way, many of them go unseen.
We have each other's back
Every woman behind this project is a migrant: the artist Irena Pejčić, the Transylvanian photographer Florentina Olareanu, who lives and creates in Vienna, the women in our atelier, and me. We all recognize ourselves in this story. That is why we came together. Because we have each other's back.
The campaign was shot at Florentina's daylight studio, Studio Glasdach. For the shoot, Irena was painted white from head to toe, an image for all the women who are overlooked. With the kind support of Martina Pleikner for the social media content and Jacqueline Simon for the make-up artistry.
This could be your story too.
“I know this from my own life. When I came to Austria 15 years ago, no one saw my struggle. I was dependent on a man, because as a migrant in a new country I felt like I was nobody. Fourteen years ago, I left a violent relationship. Back then, I didn't know there was help that could protect me and make the first small steps into a new life possible.”
– Marika
“When we left Afghanistan, we paid €10,000 for every member of our family. There were six of us.
After a long and painful journey, we arrived in Turkey with nothing. Everything we had was stolen on the way. We had to live on one euro a day, a family of six. In the evenings, we went to the markets and gathered the food that was still good but hadn't been sold. That is how we survived.
Then we set out again, and eventually we arrived in Austria. Here we found safety and support. But my husband fell into a deep depression. He started drinking, and over the years he became an alcoholic and aggressive. I was lost again.
Frauenhaus helped me find a way out. With their support, I got divorced, became independent, and built a stable life for myself.
Today I know: no woman should have to find that way alone.”
– Fahima
Why Frauenhaus
That is why Frauenhaus is part of this story. €10 from every bag2back bag goes to Frauenhaus Wien, supporting women in crisis.
Carry it, and have her back too.
– Annamaria Tolvaly, Founder of Bags With Legs
Photography: Florentina Olareanu | Location: Studio Glasdach