Whether you’re traveling across the galaxy for an epic starship battle or to the office for another day of work, you can’t go wrong with a good backpack to carry your essentials for the journey.
Heroes & Villains, which makes a variety of pop culture-inspired apparel and accessories, blends both fandom and function in its collection of Star Wars backpacks and bags, the newest of which were on display at New York Comic Con (NYCC). The latest backpack styles include a Rebel Alliance backpack, The Jedi Order Convertible backpack, a Galactic Empire backpack, and an Ahsoka Trooper backpack.
According to Creative Director Doug Johnson, these backpacks are all designed to be practical. “We are really focused on making utilitarian commuter backpacks that fit everyday lifestyles,” he says. “Each one is unique in its own way, but every single one is a commuter-built backpack for travel and for everyday use.”
This means that the backpacks all offer padded, 17-inch laptop compartments, for example. Some of the backpacks also feature compartments to store jackets, while others have built-in rain covers to help keep the wearer’s belongings dry. The Jedi Order bag even transforms into a messenger bag, for a transit-friendly carrying option. This focus on functionality expands into the brand’s Star Wars crossbody purses, which feature a compartment for AirPods, a touchscreen-friendly phone sleeve, and ID compartments.
Of course, the other element that carries across these bags is a love of Star Wars and its characters. According to Mayra DeHoyos, the bags category manager for Heroes & Villains, each bag has features that are specifically made for fans and fan conventions. This includes lightsaber holster straps on the side of the Jedi Order backpack and netting to hold cosplay helmets on the front of the Rebel Alliance backpack. “At the cons, I always see people with the helmets and they’re carrying them,” she says, explaining why she chose to include the helmet storage feature. “I’m always trying to think of something a little extra for fans.”
The fandom details go beyond functionality as well, with visual design elements that pay homage to the Star Wars universe. The Rebel Alliance bag has reflective flash detailing that says “rebel,” while the bags all feature writing in the Aurebesh alphabet and various symbols from the franchise. However, none of the accessories are especially overt in their designs — No character illustrations or lightsaber imagery to be found.
“Especially for the backpacks, we really wanna target that older consumer who really loves Star Wars and would even take these to the office, because we don’t want it to be super obvious that it’s Star Wars,” DeHoyos says. “We want it to be more Insider where if you know, you know. And they feel that cool thing where they see a fan and they’ll kind of give ’em like a high five when they see the bag.”
These new backpacks, along with Heroes & Villains’ wider selection of Star Wars bags, are available to shop now at the brand’s website.
