Designed as a tribute to both the Leica M series and the brand's first-ever model, Wencheng Zhang's concept pares down form and function to its absolute minimum.

When does a design attain iconic status" We’d venture a guess it’s when following generations deem the original worthy of celebrating through a reboot, rerelease, or reinterpretation. Shanghai-based industrial designer Wencheng Zhang pays homage to the Leica M with his own one-off Leica M Reimagined concept, paring down form and function right to its charger.

If you’ve ever had the opportunity of holding and shooting with a Leica M series camera, what is often remembered most is the device’s solidness and simplicity. Leica cameras require a minimal amount of time to become acquainted with, prioritizing a fantastic shot rather than compensating with an abundance of features. In that same vein, Zhang’s version of the Leica M is imagined to be precisely forged from a single block of aluminum alloy, imparting the form with a similar unibody confidence with what seems to be a cross between the Leica M11 and the smaller machined TL2. The designer himself says the concept’s minimalist form was actually inspired by a film camera of much older origin: Leica?s first ever camera, the Ur-Leica Replica.

Zhang’s M Reimagined Concept diverges from the classic Leica M’s control layout in an effort to improve in-hand ergonomics by adding an angled top plate to his mi...