How Luggage Became the Latest Lifestyle Trend

What happened to all the black nylon bags?

“Show me your luggage and I’ll tell you who you are,” a Louis Vuitton slogan from the 1920s once declared. In a time when the rich and influential were flanked by bellhops laden with their trunks filled to the brim as they boarded trains and ships, the sort of luggage — and how much of it — you brought with you was a reference to your wealth and worldly spirit.

Though luggage has streamlined into compact and lightweight models designed for today’s self-reliant traveler, this sentiment has endured. Luggage shoppers have historically fallen into one of two groups, with few options in between; either you bought a classic piece from the highest echelons of luggage, made by legacy trunk-makers like Rimowa and Globe-Trotter, or you defaulted to the luggage of the generic black nylon variety, a category probably defined more by broken zippers and time spent in the corner of your closet gathering dust than as anything close to a coveted travel piece or family heirloom. The former communicates a reputed sophistication about the owner, while the latter, easily camouflaged amongst others on the luggage carousel, is an anonymity that divulges little about its handler.

However, in just the last few years, industry newcomers like Horizn Studios and Away, along with established brands like Rimowa, are shifting how luggage is being perceived and sold. From sleek and stylish designs at a more affordable price, to collaborations with celebrities, fashion designers, and social media “influencers”, and the emergence of Instagram-friendly pop-ups that signal brands are cultivating a robust, self-propagating presence on social media — these have become the hallmarks of these companies’ successes in breaking the industry’s longstanding mold. The cultural perception of travel is morphing, as the next generation of travelers opt for purchasing experiences over material goods and spending more time traveling than generations before. Brands work to sell not simply a product, but a shareable and aspirational lifestyle of #travelgoals.

Luggage has always been adapted to fit the needs and tastes of each generation of travelers. The evolution of our humble carry-on is about how the ways we travel and our attitudes toward it have progressed such that the accumulation of wear and tear on an aluminum suitcase is now elevated to a certain coveted aesthetic, and collaborations with cult streetwear brands produce luggage that sell out in sixteen seconds.

While people have always needed a way to transport their belongings as they moved, whether out of necessity or for leisure, the early history of the luggage is sparse; literature and art through the 18th century depict the common traveler as using mostly knapsacks and other similar bags to carry their belongings. The Grand Tour, often credited as the beginning of modern tourism, saw young aristocrats embarking on a coming-of-age journey through the historical centers of Europe, seeking cultural experience and recreation. An entourage of porters, servants, mentors, and other staff afforded them the ability to transport more substantial luggage, which included wardrobes, furniture, and large souvenirs collected throughout the trip like statues and paintings, onto coaches and ships in containers resembling large trunks.

However, the concept of luggage didn’t popularize until the period of industrialization in the 19th century, when railroads and steamships allowed tourism to spread even further for those with the means to travel for leisure. As train travel grew, trunk-makers rose to accommodate this new era of travelers; Louis Vuitton became prominent for pioneering stackable, rectangular steamer trunks made of waterproof canvas, at a time when trunks were usually dome-topped and made of leather. Then the arrival of commercial air travel in the 1950s saw the company Samsonite introduce synthetic materials like nylon into the design of luggage, as it continued to be modified to fit the demands of a new generation of travel. Eventually the luggage was set upright, and handles and wheels were added, culminating in the now ubiquitous rollaboard design.

Tourism continued its exponential growth, as beach resorts and tropical coast destinations became the face of traditional vacations, accessible to more people than ever. Luggage for the everyman traveler, however, had yet to be regarded as anything more than simply a functional necessity, a means of safely transporting belongings from point A to B.

For today’s travelers, particularly millennials and Generation Z, the perception of travel has shifted further; the two-week beach escape has been swapped for longer trips in more remote destinations, with young travelers often choosing to backpack long-term, stay in hostels, and immerse themselves in local cultures. Armed with instantaneous access to a plethora of online listicles, travel guides, and Instagram galleries of celebrities and social media influencers to inform them on where and how to travel, these Internet-savvy travelers don’t seek just a fleeting getaway, but an adventurous lifestyle.

In April 2018, Rimowa announced its collaboration with cult streetwear brand Supreme to release an exclusive line of classic aluminum luggage, bearing Supreme’s logo and available in their signature bright red color. This was part of Rimowa’s visual identity makeover that year, which updated their logo and relaunched their iconic aluminum suitcase. Following Rimowa’s acquisition by LVMH in 2016, the company’s re-vamped vision for the legacy brand also included collaborations with Fendi and Virgil Abloh’s Off-White.

These partnerships with fashion and luxury brands carrying substantial social media influence, made under the direction of 26-year-old CEO Alex Arnault, indicate that the company is looking to reach out to a different, younger demographic in addition to their established clientele. The use of exclusive collaborations and celebrity endorsements to tap into existing fanbases and communities is a clever way to appeal to today’s generations, who are more averse to direct marketing schemes and instead are more highly affected by the brands embraced by celebrities and social media influencers.

The presence of certain aluminum suitcases on Instagram has bloomed in recent years, as airport photography, once reserved for celebrities, now extends to the everyday traveler snapping a picture of their luggage at the departure gate. ‘Instagrammability’ has turned into a considerable factor for many millennial and Gen Z travelers who use the app to document their experiences, and formerly banal acts of traveling, such as waiting in airports or packing luggage, are now potential Instagram moments. Popular travel accounts may label themselves as ‘world travelers’ or ‘digital nomads’, with galleries that project a lifestyle of perpetual travel and aim to maximize the number of ‘likes’ and followers they have, in a powerful and addicting form of social capital.

Away luggage, which has gradually been populating feeds with their stylish and highly Instagram-friendly hard-shell luggage since their inception, have become the luggage of choice for many celebrities and social media influencers. Yet perhaps the most important contributor to their success is their selling point — Away promises not just a functional and attractive travel accessory, but an integral part of an aspirational and shareworthy lifestyle (in addition to a suite of travel products, the company also runs a travel podcast and a magazine called Here).

“The more you travel, the more stories you (and your suitcase) will have to tell,” the product description for Away’s aluminum carry-on (a nod to Rimowa’s classic design) says, referring to the scratches and dents that accumulate on the metal over time. Similar to how luggage and backpacks are personalized with stickers and patches, marks of wear and tear on an aluminum luggage become a record of experience and a piece of your identity. A ‘lived-in’ aluminum suitcase conveys a rugged authenticity that is prized amongst travelers and those who aspire to accumulate experiences over material goods, one that also looks good as a piece of furniture or art in your home.

Away’s more affordable price-point might suggest a step away from the financial elitism that has dogged the higher ends of the luggage industry, but the image of a put-together, well-dressed millennial sweeping through the airport or posing for a photo outside the terminal with their Away luggage echoes a sophisticated look not far removed from the ranks of high-class fashion. This style communicates a polished, yet carefree attitude amidst the alternating hectic chaos and inevitable drudgery of traveling. It’s a look that other fashion trends like athleisure and streetwear have capitalized on, that stems from the desire to look effortlessly elegant yet casual while carrying out the most banal tasks, like going to the grocery store or the gym, or waiting to board a plane.

Countless articles online promise to groom the novice traveler or self-conscious tourist with lists of dos and don’ts and ways to hide their obvious mistakes, and having a durable, good-looking luggage has become vital to projecting that Instagram-worthy lifestyle. The black polyester suitcase of years past is silent, giving nothing away about the traveler. On the other hand, a beat-up aluminum carry-on plastered with stickers from the places you’ve been to and scuffed up from the number of overhead compartments and back trunks it’s seen, or the clean lines of pastel blue hard-shells from Away, has become a visual testament to a modern form of cultural capital.