The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2020 - Issue 27

bite men W herever you travel, whether in town or somewhere in the world, you’ll want to ensure your business or casual travel bags are timeless, robust, and long-lasting. The name Jekyll & Hide may remind you of Robert Louis Ste- venson’s dual personality character Dr. Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde but in this case, it is a lifestyle brand that merges original craftsmanship and attention to detail with fresh styling and a modern attitude, to create timeless pieces to accompany the traveller on their journey through life. Now an international brand since it was founded in Cape Town, South Africa in 2003 and stocked by some of the most prestigious retailers in the world in 10 countries and 8 inter- national duty-free airports, Jekyll & Hide’s collections consist of leather business bags, travel bags, and casual bags as well as shoes, belts, accessories, ladies handbags, and leather jackets. Their pieces blend function and design that reflect their core values of authentic quality and style. You can rest assured that the finest leather the world has to offer is sourced from countries like South America, Asia, Africa, and Europe, providing a range of timeless yet effort- lessly modern travel and business leather goods. “Brought to life in the seaside city of Cape Town and the bustling metropolis of London, each one of our bespoke, authentic, ruggedly elegant leather goods is certain to become your most trusted travel companions, savvy business partners, and stylish accessories.” When it comes to security, Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), a wireless communication where electromag- netic fields automatically identify and track tags attached to objects is often used. However, if stored information is attached to personal data, it could be accessed or cloned. Jekyll & Hide combats this by lining every bespoke leather product with specially engineered RFID-blocking fabric to prevent harmful radio waves from accessing, storing, or cloning your private information. Another subject close to the brand’s heart is sustainability. With most of the goods they produce being leather-based, using mainly vegetable tan, the product lining is made from recycled bottles which are approved by Global Recycle Standard. Jekyll & Hide has also satisfied the needs of cus- tomers who want products that are not 100% leather by adding canvas elements. Currently, they are developing a more circular product cycle based on a recycling system that discards old products sustainably. Jekyll & Hide has done even more to uphold their sustain- ability values. They teamed up with a dynamic indigenous nursery to assist them in offsetting their carbon footprint by growing and maintaining Spekboom.“This proudly South African miracle plant is incredibly effective at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.” Having secured their own hectare of land for the project, they plan to grow around 6000 plants in 2020, in a bid to ensure local innova- tions are both championed and celebrated. Images courtesy of JuliaAnne Creative Cristina Lloyd looks at Jekyll & Hide’s sustainability ethos and genuine leather produc ts that are expertly crafted to become life- long partners when travelling.