Moving forward with Tumi

The American luggage brand’s creative director talks about the new Alpha Bravo Spring 22 line and his famous ‘Tumi Crew’

The recently relaunched Alpha Bravo collection from Tumi seems to have been a direct response to the pandemic. Its 24 pieces are modular, durable and sustainable, keeping in mind road trips and the changing functionality of travel gear. “Alpha Bravo’s modular concept allows our customers to remain in forward motion while being able to adapt their bags to meet their ever-changing needs,” says Victor Sanz, creative director of Tumi. Sanz, who has collaborated with Anish Kapoor, Dior and Johnnie Walker in the past, has also repurposed his own luggage to suit his needs. He has talked about using them to store shoes for various seasons! But it’s not just him, he says. “I’ve seen people using luggage to haul groceries, deliver clothes to those in need, or even transport their Olympic sports gear… go Alex and Maia Shibutani [the skater sisters].”

The design of Alpha Bravo, priced from approximately ₹13,400, has taken into consideration the pandemic-driven changes in travel. “I used the pause in travel to spend additional time studying our customers,” adds Sanz. “I’ve sought to truly understand their behaviours, how the world shifted for them and how we could best address their needs. We looked through their eyes to gain influence from their experiences.”

The new designs integrate with Tumi+, a series of accessories that can be attached to the Alpha Bravo collection, with daisy chains, G-hooks and carabiners. This flexibility is something that Sanz sees as necessary, since, “With many being able to work remotely, incorporating a trip with longer stays to enjoy a culture or new destination while still being able to connect to the office is more and more common. The pieces we have been creating are developed to incorporate this dual-journey thinking.”

To launch the collection, the brand worked with their ‘Tumi Crew’, a series of personalities across disciplines, on videos that showcased the new range. The F1 driver Lando Norris was one of them, as well as South Korean footballer Son Heung-Min, actor and musician Anthony Ramos and singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams. Sanz, who has an easy association with Norris, 22, as Tumi has collaborated with McLaren, the racing team, says, “Working with McLaren has been an amazing experience because of our shared love of innovation and performance. It has gone beyond being a collaboration and is a true partnership of ideas and drive.”