Khourian Beer is not, as the name may suggest, the latest brew in lager land. Evocative of hops and malts it may be, the brand is, in fact, the deeply conceptual work of architect Sebastian Khourian and his life partner, designer Daniela Beer. Just a year old, the Spanish leather goods and men’s wear label is drawing attention with their beautifully structured bags for men and women that stand out in a market crowded with products of mostly flat-surface quadrilaterals.

We were drawn to this hexagonal ‘Hypsometry’ backpack—its shape so unusual and deliberately 3-D that we had to touch it. Made of leather moulded to have the bulk of polycarbonates, the bag could have been a prop from a sci-fi film set in a dystopian future. Yet, there’s something old world about it too. Maybe it’s the vegetable-tanned leather (individually tinted in layers and polished with seven waxes) or maybe it’s the distinctive, pentagonal, three-hole wood handle made of exotic zebrano, macassar ebony, or peltogyne (purpleheart) timbers.

The distinctive lack of flashy hardware and deliberately indiscreet logos is truly refreshing, but that is no indication of lack of luxury. The cream-coloured interior of the carapace is lined with leather too, with black criss-cross leather harness on one side for storing articles such as notebooks that need to be secured. The result, unfortunately for some, is the weight of the bag: it is quite heavy. Heft, in this case, is a measure of the creators’ artisanal finesse.

Khourian Beer leather ‘Hypsometry’ backpack with wood handle, SGD4,750, as well as clutches and handbags are available at L’amoire, Raffles Hotel Shopping Arcade. Photo: 44Store