Two Italian designers are turning items like cereal boxes and Amazon packaging into purses, and the

• Chiara Rivituso and Matteo Bastiani are Milan-based designers who turn food packaging and shipping materials into purses.
• Rivituso and Bastiani share their upcycled creations on their Instagram account, Camera60 Studio.
• "We want to inspire people to create rather than waste," Rivituso told Insider.
• Striking photos of the designers' handbags show how they create stitching on cereal boxes, Oreo wrappers, and cardboard beer boxes and transform them into renditions of luxury handbags.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Rivituso and Bastiani, who are experienced working with leather, turn everyday objects, like coffee bags, into chic handbags.

Rivituso, a product and pattern developer, and Bastiani, who specializes in leather goods prototype-making, formed a leather goods design studio Camera60 in Milan, Italy, in 2011.

Recently, though, they started what Rivituso calls their upcycle project, where they use their leather expertise to give new life to ordinary supplies and materials.

"It was all about experimentation and making bags from unusual materials," Rivituso said.  "Our intention was to reuse plastic stuff in a different way, and we wanted to bring the craftmanship of leather goods into everyday objects."

They often re-create silhouettes inspired by luxury handbags.

"We remake iconic bags using waste packaging and other stuff — paper, plastic, and boxes — to communicate our vision of a more sustainable fashion industry," Rivituso said. "It's our manifesto."

For example, the designers used a Nike shoebox to create a purse inspired by the silhouette and style of Dior's saddle bag, and they turned a Chanel shopping bag into the style of a Jacquemus miniature purse.

Using a sewing machine, the designers stitch together unconventional materials and add details like chains and hardware.

The design process depends on the individual handbag, Rivituso said, but it typically involves testing various textures and hardware that work well with the unconventional objects.

"Sometimes we make a digital render or a collage to visualize the idea," Rivituso said. "Other times, we need to check the materials and make some tests with different reinforcements, or we stitch other materials to fix the shape and the details."

Above, the team used a Heineken cardboard box to re-create their version of a Louis Vuitton Soft Trunk silhouette.

Here, the team used an Oreo wrapper as the material for a quilted crossbody bag.

Rivituso said that some ideas for the team's designs feel instant, while others take longer to conceptualize.

"Most of our ideas are from feeling and intuition," Rivituso said. "Some ideas come out and we love them immediately. Other times, we make some drawings or something, and we need to think about."

They turned a bag of iconic Italian cookies into a miniature tote bag inspired by Stella McCartney.

The team often adds unique details, like outlining the unconventional materials with extra pieces of fabric or lacing metal chains through the purse body to create a shoulder strap.

"We'd like to inspire people to create rather than waste," Rivituso said.

The clever handbags aren't for sale, but the designers are sharing tutorials so people can make their own.

Rivituso and Bastiani created a pattern for the neck bag design shown on the left that's available on their studio's website, along with a video tutorial on their Instagram page.

The designers are planning to share other tutorials to inspire people to give materials they have around the house a second life.

"We'd like to inspire people to create rather than waste, and we'd like to involve also brands to embrace this vision," Rivituso said.
 

Rivituso and Bastiani hope their handbags encourage people to think about the products they use on a daily basis "in a different and more creative way."

"People are becoming more and more sensitive about upcycling and the importance to act for a better future," Rivituso said, adding that the Camera60 Studio bags are just one example of how people can turn waste into something creative.

• Read more:
• Fans used items like packing tape and toilet paper to recreate their favorite Met Gala looks at home, and even Kim Kardashian was impressed
• 17 times celebrities recycled their red carpet looks
• I spent a week carrying a tiny purse like Lizzo, but the 2-inch accessory is so impractical that it should stay on the red carpet
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