This is what a dismantled Kelly bag looks like

Assembled, these strips of leather and brass fittings amount to one of the most coveted handbags on Earth. But German photographer Jeroen van Rooijen was more interested in what the Hermes Kelly bag would look like reduced to its component parts—and this is the result.

The Kelly photograph is one of the images in van Rooijen’s new book, (German for ‘disassembled’ or ‘decomposed’). With most Kellys costing in the teens (of thousands of pounds), it's probably the most expensive item in the book, but van Rooijen also tinkered with a Converse shoe, Mackintosh coat and John Smedley jumper for his exploration of quality and composition.

The book itself offers a nod to the author’s craft, containing a seam ripper for your own deconstruction projects. Just make sure you remember how to put things back together again...