The people designing at Rimowa right now have it right. The brand is a bright spot in the world of travel. I think everyone else has lost the plot. Travel hacks, stratified experiences, airport lounge reviews, and the points system have made traveling a game to be won by guys who read credit card reviews. It’s antithetical to our vision here at Esquire. We care about beautiful hotels, and not just so we can get points back and post Instagram stories that say, “White Lotus vibes,” or whatever. It’s because we care about the joy of traveling. A joy that’s personal, done for yourself, and based around looking and feeling cool. Rimowa seems like the only brand on our same wavelength.
Rimowa Hand-Carry Case
Case in point: After an earlier collaboration with Rick Owens that featured a freaky bronze-colored outer and leather interior, Rimowa is now dropping its Holiday collection. Three old-school hand-carry travel cases in shiny red, blue, and yellow polycarbonate. Think of these as the two beautiful ends of the spectrum that are revolting against the dull and over-optimized world of travel in 2025. Some of the Esquire style editors might prefer that moody Rick Owens collection, but for me, these Holiday cases are the perfect pieces of luggage. I want Swinging London technicolor and those mid-century Charles de Gaulle terminals. I want ’80s cars the color of Game Boys with ashtrays and pop-up headlights. These travel cases are simultaneously all of that.
If you can’t tell, I’m the target audience here. Not only do I write about this stuff for a living, I care too deeply about the way things look, with a penchant for old shit I never experienced the first time around. My fiancée loves Jet Age stewardess uniforms. I love old road-trippy car ads. We’ve been to two separate museums to see decommissioned Concordes. We appreciate that back then there was a lot of attention paid to the aesthetics of travel, and these suitcases are right in that wheelhouse.
That said, I commend the Rimowa designers for not going costume-y. I have saved eBay searches for old luggage, some of it Rimowa cases like the 1980s ones that inspired this collection, and it easily could have just remade those. Instead, it feels fresh, a rebuttal to the bland colors and travel hack mindset. It’s a primary color case you carry with your hand, or shoulder strap if you must, and the interior organization is pretty straightforward. It’s made to look pretty and function simply. Travel optimization nerds might want to skip this one.
Actually, travel optimization nerds, why don’t you give this collection a shot? You are the ones that could benefit most from cutting loose. Stop trying to win travel. No pre-flight routine is going to fully get rid of jet lag. No stretchy travel pant or squishy sneaker is going to change your life. Wear a suit and boots to the airport. Get drunk on your flight and smoke a duty-free cigarette in a sad airport smokers’ cell. Or better yet, take a long road trip whenever feasible. Live well. Enjoy the impracticality of things. Buy one of these beautiful travel cases not because it promises to make your life easier. Buy one because it’ll make you happy. When that overhead bin drops down or that car trunk pops open, you’re going to see that bright red suitcase and smile. That’s more important than any dumb airport lounge.
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