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There’s no official list of status symbols. But if there was, Rimowa’s original cabin carry-on would be on it—the aluminum suitcase is now a mainstay of first class cabins all around the world. How it became that is a business study unto itself (Rimowa receiving a majority investment from LVMH in 2016 probably had a lot to do with it) however, it’s inarguable that it is: Vogue even asked three tastemakers to walk us through how they packed their Rimowa for the August 2023 issue.
And now, the luggage brand is ready to move beyond the overhead bin—and into your living room.
Today, Rimowa debuts a limited edition collection with Vitra at Art Basel. Consisting of two pieces—a stool and a toolbox—it marks the first time they’ve ventured fully into the decor space. (Previously, they’ve created one-of-kind commissions, but their Vitra products will be available for online consumer purchase: The stool will be released in a limited edition of 1000 pieces, and they will produce 100 units of the toolbox.)
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Both items are made in the brand’s signature material of aluminum (which Vitra is no stranger to, producing the famous Ray and Charles Eames chair with the same metal) and boast the same distinctive grooves of their suitcases. While the toolbox is a reinterpretation of industrial designer Arik Levy’s 2010 design, the stool is a brand new creation.
Like the suitcases, the aim of the cube-shaped stool was for it to be a deeply functional piece. “The stool, upholstered in Vitra’s fabric and designed with a trolley-style interior, offers a fresh take on mobile furniture; it sits on wheels just like a Rimowa suitcase and can easily move around a space,” says Emelie De Vitis, senior vice president of product and marketing at Rimowa. Use it as a storage unit or as a seat: on the top is a comfortable pastel-hued cushion.
That’s not to say that function completely triumphs over form. The Rimowa stool, with its clean industrial feel, would sit comfortably in a Brutalist or modernist home. (One could easily picture it in the living room of the Deer Valley home in Mountainhead, for example, or the fictional Berlin home of Lydia Tár.)
“We very much hope that it will become a future design classic,” De Vitis adds.
