After long months of being grounded – when the concept of travel has shifted from the everyday to the unusual – we’d like to imagine that when people board a plane or train again, they’ll dress with a sense of occasion, putting a contemporary spin on the glamour and glitz of 1960s jet-set style. One such way to smarten up is to bring a luxurious lilt to your luggage, an investment that’s sure to encourage envious stares as you wheel your out-of-office accoutrements through the airport departure lounge or hotel reception.
Significant style uplift can be found in the latest suitcase offering from French outerwear label Moncler and German travel specialist Rimowa, a collaborative design that is part of the Moncler Genius collection. This innovative line, which first launched in 2018, invites guest brands and designers, from Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli to Comme des Garçons protégé Kei Ninomaya, to reinterpret Moncler’s signature padded down creations, which are as ubiquitous on London’s Sloane Street as they are on the ski slopes of St Moritz. In line with a millennial shopping mindset, these collections are launched as monthly drops, to an online din of anticipation.
Travel right with Moncler and Rimowa’s ‘Reflection’ suitcase
Moncler and Rimowa showcased its ‘Reflection’ suitcase design back in February 2020, as part of a music festival at Milan Fashion Week, which saw thousands of fans enter huge hangar spaces, each hosting the collections of Moncler Genius designers, including Simone Rocha, Craig Green and JW Anderson. In one space, Pomeranians were preened in a doggy styling salon, wearing metallic puffer jackets from Moncler’s Poldo Dog Couture line; in another, models walked in an interstellar interior resembling a pod from 2001: A Space Odyssey, sporting retro-futuristic ski wear by Richard Quinn. Outside, Rick Owens rocked up in a silver tour bus, with his own guerrilla presentation. Creating a slogan-emblazoned skyline, Rimowa suitcases were also suspended on scaffolding next to huge rolling LED screens, displaying messages including ‘Let’s fly away’, which became laden with irony as, just weeks later, the world ground to a standstill.
For the collaborative suitcase design, Moncler and Rimowa have looked to their joint expertise in materiality. The latter’s signature aluminium suitcase – first issued in 1937 and updated with a hardy grooved patina in 1950 – has been given an alluringly shiny mirrored surface, inspired by the glossy lacquered effect of Moncler’s down jackets and the reflective anti-glare glaze used in its mountaineering equipment. In an innovative interpretation of customisable luggage, the suitcase is also equipped with an LED screen that can be programmed with personalised ticker-style messages using a purpose-built app. This digital detail is also a nod to online messaging, so integral to our identities today.
The collaboration marks an evolution of the Moncler Genius project, with Rimowa being the first travel- and experience-focused brand that the label has collaborated with. It also marks another successful partnership for Rimowa, which in recent years has worked with a host of brands and creative minds, including Dior, Fendi, Olafur Eliasson and Alex Israel.
Keen to channel jet-set chic when you next travel? Moncler and Rimowa’s LED screen-emblazoned suitcase provides all the style answers you need. §