Why We Build a Second Body Outside Our Own

A bag is typically an object used to carry what the body needs. But Berlin-based INNERRAUM does not see a bag as something separate from the body. The brand defines each object as an extension of the body and a metaphor for the body itself. Just as bones and organs come together to form a body, INNERRAUM assembles seemingly unrelated components to create a new shell.

Hard shells, ratchets, straps, and exposed connections give its objects the appearance of armor or an exoskeleton. In 2023, this idea expanded into clothing through a technical vest created with Junya Watanabe MAN, where the structure wrapped around the body like an external skeleton. Their collaboration has since continued from FW24 through SS26, further blurring the boundaries between bags, clothing, and accessories. Clothes and bags have long been used to decorate the body. But INNERRAUM raises a different question: do we keep adding objects to our bodies simply to adorn ourselves, or are we creating another version of the body we want to inhabit?