Take a trip through nostalgic travel photography with Rimowa
The Cologne-based suitcase expert has released a Rizzoli-published monograph of its archival designs
There’s a host of ritualistic activities that signify a holiday has begun: bidding farewell to your check-in bag at the departures desk, the first sip of something bubbly in an airport lounge, or the exhilarating feeling of an aeroplane first lifting into the sky. For the design obsessives among us, out-of-office begins when the internal Flexi Dividers of a Rimowa suitcase are filled and the locks of its grooved aluminium outer shell are gently clinked together. We fully condone a monomania for something so expertly made, with a whole cargo cabin worth of design history, especially when it's accompanying you to adventures abroad.
We imagine your suitcase has gathered a little dust this year, but in lieu of physical travel, Rimowa has the at-home escapist answer. It’s latest Rizzoli-published monograph Rimowa: An Archive, Since 1898, provides a decades-and-destination spanning history of the brand – which was first founded in Cologne in 1898, and introduced its signature aluminium suitcase in 1937, after the metal was the only material that survived a blaze at the brand's factory. The volume also features a foreward by Wallpaper* founder and Monocle editor-in-chief Tyler Brûlé.
‘It is one possible arrangement from the entire collection, carefully chosen with the intent of sharing a clear, albeit inevitably incomplete, narrative,’ states the books introduction, regarding the archive wonders enclosed in its pages. The volume is chaptered according to the materials which Rimowa’s travel items have been designed in, moving from its earliest leather and wood and steel iterations, into its more contemporary aluminium and polycarbonate creations.
The range of archival designs on display include a bass transport case from the 1960s, to a radio case from 1979, a bar cart case from the 1990s, to a custom case for model airplanes from 2002. Other eye-catching inclusions include the recent host of collaborative designs with artists and brands masterminded by Alexandre Arnault – who was appointed CEO in 2017 when LVMH acquired a majority stake in the brand. These include Off–White's clear polycarbonate suitcase, Dior's Oblique logo emblazoned hand case and Alex Israel's LA skyline-inspired cabin case in hazy blue and pink anodised aluminium.
A Rimowa design draws coveted stares from regular suitcase wheelers in global departure lounges. From your coffee table, Rimowa: An Archive, Since 1898, will incur equally envious eyelines.
INFORMATION
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Utilitarian men’s fashion that will elevate your everyday
From Prada to Margaret Howell, utilitarian and workwear-inspired men’s fashion gets an upgrade for S/S 2024
By Jack Moss Published
-
Gerhard Richter unveils new sculpture at Serpentine South
Gerhard Richter revisits themes of pattern and repetition in ‘Strip-Tower’ at London’s Serpentine South
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Vipp’s Scandinavian guesthouse offers a sleek setting amid a wild landscape
Vipp Cold Hawaii is a Scandinavian guesthouse designed by architecture studio Hahn Lavsen in Denmark’s Thy National Park
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
‘Package Holiday 1968-1985’: a very British love affair in pictures
‘Package Holiday’ recalls tans, table tennis and Technicolor in Trevor Clark’s wistful snaps of sun-seeking Brits
By Caragh McKay Published
-
‘Art Exposed’: Julian Spalding on everything that’s wrong with the art world
In ‘Art Exposed’, Julian Spalding draws on his 40 years in the art world – as a museum director, curator, and critic – for his series of essays
By Alfred Tong Published
-
Marisol Mendez's ‘Madre’ unpicks the woven threads of Bolivian womanhood
From ancestry to protest, how Marisol Mendez’s 'Madre' is rewriting the narrative of Bolivian womanhood
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Photo book explores the messy, magical mundanity of new motherhood
‘Sorry I Gave Birth I Disappeared But Now I’m Back’ by photographer Andi Galdi Vinko explores new motherhood in all its messy, beautiful reality
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Best contemporary art books: a guide for 2023
From maverick memoirs to topical tomes, turn over a new leaf with the Wallpaper* arts desk’s pick of new releases and all-time favourite art books
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
The best photography books for your coffee table
Flick through, mull over and deep-dive into the best photography books on the market, from our shelves to you
By Sophie Gladstone Published
-
Behind the scenes of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining: new book charts the making of a horror icon
Published in February 2023 by Taschen, a new collector's book will go behind the scenes of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, charting the unseen making of a film that defined the horror genre
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Brad Walls’ aerial view transforms pools into artwork
Aerial photographer Brad Walls provides a crisp conclusion to the summer months with new book Pools From Above – you’ll want to dive right in
By Martha Elliott Last updated