Jay Ahr designer Jonathan Riss tells stories by custom-embroidering vintage Hermès Birkin bags from around the world, and his work has caught the attention of celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Cardi B.
“I buy an old piece and then I transform it, so that’s really the base of what I’m doing,” Riss recently told Page Six Style over the phone. “It’s finding an object full of narrative, with a story, [that] is iconic by itself, and then I take it and transform it and when I transform that piece, this is where I’m telling the story.”
Riss’ fashion journey began when he was just 20 years old, making his way from Ukraine to Mumbai to New York — where he opened his Jay Ahr boutique — to Paris and finally to Hong Kong, where he settled and has been building one of the largest collections of transformed Birkin bags in the world.
With over 1,000 pieces so far, Riss tells us his collection is “based on 20 years of archives that I have done, and it’s magic.”
The process of acquiring a Birkin in a specific color or from a particular year can take quite some time; Riss calls it “mission impossible.”
“We buy bags around the world from different collections, private collections from different families, from important auction houses like Christie’s, and relate it to the place where we found the bag,” he said.
While every coveted Hermès handbag is made in Paris, the year it was created and the location of its previous owners ultimately determine Riss’ designs.
His creations can take anywhere from four months to a year to complete, requiring a team of about 30 people for each piece. Riss also draws inspiration from different cultures, incorporating details from Persian rugs from Iran, Hokusai’s Shunga woodblock prints from Japan and tribal prints from Africa, as well as Chinese and Arabic calligraphy, musical lyrics, poetry, and art from around the world.
Riss’ bandana-embroidered Birkins have proven particularly popular with A-listers; Cardi B and Kylie Jenner both own versions of the style, and Kim Kardashian was the first major celeb to acquire one.
The designer says that while the design was born from a personal childhood memory, “I think it’s stronger than that, because it’s also how to show that you are a part of the community.” He’s created bandana Birkins in “all different colors,” each with its own unique twist.
For instance, Jenner’s bandana-inspired bag is the only Birkin 30 bag in white that features the design, and Riss intends to keep it that way. “Same for the black, same for the green, yellow, whatever it is,” he added.
And Riss feels “blessed” to have some of the biggest names in the world carrying his work.
“Obviously we are very happy when they love what we do and it’s a beautiful story also because it’s against all marketing strategy,” he told us, pointing out that he doesn’t even have an e-commerce site.
“We don’t lend any bags, we don’t [gift] any bags, we don’t discount any bags, and when you have these people who receive stuff from everywhere and they come to us and pay the real price of those pieces and order more and more because they love it, it’s super touching. It’s a big [show of] respect from those people.”
And at anywhere from $35,000 to $85,000 for his one-of-a-kind Hermès masterpieces, that’s saying something.