Back to school: how backpacks regained their cool

As a schoolchild in the late-’90s, there was no bigger social faux pas than wearing your backpack on both shoulders. Such a crime against fashion would result in the offending item being yanked from your back and the wearer branded “two straps!”. It was hardly imaginative or witty, but it was devastating, nonetheless. 

Fortunately for our rotator cuffs, backpacks are officially cool again. Need proof? Pop into luxury fashion emporium Harrods and admire the rows of designers who have gone two-strap: Gucci, Burberry, YSL, Prada – you name it. Even the indisputably cool Pharrell Williams showcased new backpack styles for his debut collection as men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton, featuring a pixelated camo print.

And from hipsters with their Scandi styles, to City workers sporting plush leather versions on the DLR; backpacks have become an essential part of our daily life. Navigating a healthy work-life balance often means combining different professional and personal requirements, so a backpack needs to be able to store all the work essentials (documents, laptops, chargers) along with gym kit, home-prepped lunches and maybe a change of clothes for after-work drinks. In short, our work bags have never had to work harder. 

This was certainly the rationale behind the Thomas Pink x Troubadour capsule collection. Thomas Pink teamed up with the British bag maker this year to produce a new four-model range, which includes the Apex Backpack. The minimalist design and streamline silhouette of the Apex belie a bag with plenty of clever compartments and storage. The bag was designed with commuters in mind, as well as catering to different aspects of daily life. It includes a separate zip pocket for a 17” laptop, two water-bottle pockets, external and internal pockets and a trolley sleeve to slide over a suitcase handle. There’s even a removable Thomas Pink branded shirt bag for a handy change of clothes. Like Thomas Pink, Troubadour prioritises performance and quality fabrics, and, as a B Corp company, its materials are of supreme quality and sustainability, made from recycled plastic bottles and vegan leather. 

We’ve established that backpacks are en vogue. But the history of this fashion staple is one that’s surprisingly rich and fascinating. One of the earliest known examples of a backpack (of sorts) belonged to Ötzi, the mummified Neolithic “Iceman” discovered in the Ötztal Alps in 1991. A simple U-shaped wooden frame and net served as a rudimentary backpack to carry his essentials. Apparently, it was all the rage in 3300 BC. Fast forward to the mid-19th century and the American Civil War, which saw the use of bindles, made from simple cloth bags attached to sticks. American colonel Henry C Merriam patented his “knapsack” in 1878, which brought the wooden frame and canvas combination together and affixed it over the wearer’s shoulders. In 1908, Norwegian inventor Ole Bergan patented a more ergonomic design, and his backpacks, manufactured under his eponymous Bergans of Norway outerwear brand, are still used by the Norwegian Armed Forces to this day. 

Both World Wars saw advances in the design and performance of backpacks, and it was in the wake of World War II that schoolchildren started using backpacks to carry their books and essentials. As for older students, it was in the late-1960s that a college student named Skip Yowell started making backpacks with his then-girlfriend (later wife), a talented seamstress named Jan Lewis. Apparently, Yowell promised Jan that, if she agreed to marry him, he would name the company after her. JanSport bags were originally designed for mountain climbing but became a student favourite when they appeared in the University of Washington book shop.

There still exists a slight divide between hardy, military-style bags for outdoor excursions and more academic versions for students or city workers. But advances in technology, design and materials mean you can now have the best of both worlds – the modern backpack is both fashionable and functional. Even when worn on both shoulders.