A BUSINESS PERSON LIVES BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS, URGENT MEETINGS AND HAS NOT A SINGLE MINUTE OF SPARE TIME. A CONVENIENT AND FUNCTIONAL TRUNK SOMETIMES BECOMES AN INDISPENSABLE COMPANION IN BUISINESS TRIPS.
A suitcase as we know it now appeared in the 18th century. It was the time when travelling became an image feature for aristocracy and the heavy metal-bound merchant’s chests with locks were replaced by the elegant and exquisite trunks or small redwood chests. Comfort and luxury on the road became the defining characteristics of all luggage accessories in the Age of Enlightenment.
This trend remains even now. However, the speed and dynamics of the 21st century dictate their own laws: unique materials are being developed that protect travel bags and trunks from blow damage, water, too wrinkled clothes and other traveller’s calamities. The design is also important for the businessman, as well as the trademark.
Louis Vuitton
For 150 years the famous French Louis Vuitton brand has been a favourite of the travelling elite. The founder and namesake of the legendary brand was born in 1821 in the small town of Jura in the Jura mountains in France. At 14 Louis went to Paris in search of a better life. He became an apprentice of the cabinetmaker who made and sold travel trunks and boxes. Several years later the young man became a real craftsman and in 1853 was appointed Layetier to Empress Eugenie. It helped Vuitton open his own workshop on Rue Neuve-des-Capucines.
In 1854 Louis Vuitton created his first light trunk with a hanger, securing himself a place in the history of fashion. It was a revolution in the true sense of the word: the invention of the famous trunk-maker saved the clothes from wrinkling. In the age of the 1st railway, travel boom and elegance it was an incredible gift of fate to the dandy.
In 1858 a flat suitcase upholstered with gray canvas material appeared under the Louis Vuitton brand (previously the trunks used to be bulging). It changed the baggage culture in general because trunks now could be stacked. When Louis Vuitton turned 40 his name was on the lips of all the stylish travellers of the time. Even now it’s not good form to travel without Louis Vuitton accessories.
How did the brand manage to remain fashionable for 150 years? It’s quite simple, really. The means of transport evolved: first liners, then planes, electric trains and supercars, and with them evolved the famous trunks and travel accessories by Louis Vuitton. Marc Jacobs’s appointment as creative designer was a breath of fresh air for the brand. He creates incredible pieces working with the trademark Monogram fabric which can be denim, perforated, varnished or coloured. But these are only outer changes, the substance remains unchanged: the technology of trunk-making has remained the same since the 19th century. Essential are the high-quality poplar body, thick cotton covering, upholstery with the Monogram fabric and the most reliable lock. The style and reliability of the LV brand are timeless. It’s quite understandable that a Louis Vuitton trunk has become the essential accessory for politics, movie stars, aristocrats and
sportsmen. Among them are: Tsar Nicholas II, Marlene Dietrich, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Kirk Douglas, Jerry Lewis, Audrey Hepburn,
Sharon Stone, Jennifer Lopez – the list can be continued forever.
Samsonite
The story of the Belgian Samsonite goes back to 1910 when Jess Shwayder and his 6 employees founded the Shwayder Trunk Manufacturing Company. The company’s trademark was a photograph of Jess, his fathers and three brothers, altogether weighing around 500 kg, who were standing on the lid of an open suitcase.
The company’s philosophy is "Worldproof": travel accessories that withstand the unfavourable environment in any circumstances. Even the name of the company, Samsonite, which appeared after the WWII, was chosen by Jess after his favourite Biblical figure Samson who impressed the people with his strengh and superhuman endurance.
Today Samsonite is a world-famous brand, and all the models fall into over 30 series in the 2 main categories: Travel and Business. Samsonite makes the exclusive Executive Class trunks created by celebrated fashion designers. In particular, the new collection Samsonite Black Label by Alexander McQueen was created together with the infamous British designer Alexander McQueen. It continues the existing lines: Vintage, X’Lite, Signat Attache and Samsonite by Marc Newson.
Samsonite Black Label is a premium brand. There are Samsonite Black Label shops
in Moscow, London, Berlin, Brussels, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, New York, San
Fransisco, Boston and Tokyo. Cosmopolitan nature, new technology and easy chic are the pain features of Samsonite.
The world’s most expensive modern trunk is Henk. According to the Forbes magazine it costs $20,000; it took $10 million to design it. The wonder trunk consists of 500 elements made of various exotic materials like horse hair, ebony, magnesium, aluminium, titan, carbonfibre, canvas and different types of leather. Special design allows moving the trunk easily, almost with a light touch of hand.
Delsey
The international trademark Delsey was founded in France in 1965; its name is comprised by the first 3 letters in the names of business partners Delahate and the Seynhaeve Bros. At the moment the brand is sold in 105 countries on 5 continents. The range is as wide as it gets: volume-increasing trunks and cabin-sized suitcases that can be carried as hand luggage on the plane; functional holdalls, travel bags with and without rollers, women’s beauty cases and men’s toilet-bags. All models are equipped with combination or hanging locks.
What makes Delsey especially interesting is the use of unique innovations. For instance, the Mobility series is made of the ABS material that regains the original shape after deformation if treated with hot air. Its lid is like that of a holdall, the rollers have a rotation angle of 360 degrees. The Initials series all the metal elements are made of the patented Zamac alloy with protective shockproof features. Each piece is thoroughly tested. For instance, to test the rollers the full-laden case is carried for many hundreds kilometres across the rough surface at 5 kmph; the zipper is fastened and unfastened 15,000 times which equals 5 years of everyday use. To test the handles a full-weight case is lifted and then put down for hundreds of times; the locks are opened and closed for 15,000 times. It all makes a Delsey trunk the ultimate traveller’s companion.
Natalia Andrianova
Photoreport
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