Ucon Acrobatics

Ucon Acrobatics is a Berlin-based bag brand founded in 2001 by Jochen Smuda and Martin Fussenegger. It makes minimalist, functional backpacks and bags, increasingly from recycled materials.

What is Ucon Acrobatics?

Ucon Acrobatics is an independent German brand of backpacks and bags for urban life, designed in Berlin. It follows a form follows function approach, pairing clean, minimal design with practical details.

History

Longtime friends Jochen Smuda and Martin Fussenegger started the company in 2001 by printing T-shirts in a friend's basement and selling them at skate events. The label moved from skate apparel to streetwear and street fashion, then into accessories, and around 2016 it concentrated on backpacks and bags. The company has been based in Berlin for about two decades and remains founder-owned, with no outside investors.

Products and positioning

• Roll-top and packable backpacks
• Weekender, belt and shoulder bags
• Artist Series collaborations with designers such as Eike König and Studio Feixen

In 2016 the brand began using recycled PET bottles for its backpacks and later moved to recycled textiles and materials made from fashion waste. Ucon Acrobatics is a certified B Corp and is listed as PETA Approved Vegan.

Distribution

Products are sold through retail partners in cities worldwide and through the brand's own online shop, which ships across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

Why it matters

The brand is an example of a founder-owned European label that narrowed its focus to one category and built its identity on design and material choices.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Ucon Acrobatics from?

Ucon Acrobatics is a German brand, designed and headquartered in Berlin.

Who founded Ucon Acrobatics?

It was founded in 2001 by friends Jochen Smuda and Martin Fussenegger, who still own the company.

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