FREQUENT FLIER: Rick Owens is a carryon-only traveler, and now he has a suitcase that matches the esthetics of his homes in France and Italy.
His limited-edition collaboration with Rimowa, teased Thursday at his fall 2025 menwear show in Paris, hinges on a bronze exterior reminiscent of the weathered metal surface of sculptures by Richard Serra, Constantin Brâncuși or Alberto Giacometti, and an interior lined in black leather like some high-end glove box.
“I also developed black matching leather toiletry cases so the whole thing, it’s just all perfectly matched,” Owens said. “I might sound lavish to some people, in a way, but it’s not like I’m ever gonna have a private jet. That’s not the world that I live in.
“My clothes, I’m sure, end up on a lot of private jets. I can’t control that, but I can try and make sure that what I’m producing has some kind of integrity and non-disposability built into it,” Owens added.
The Rimowa x Rick Owens Original Cabin Bronze suitcase.
Matteo Carcelli
Only 500 Rimowa x Rick Owens Original Cabin Bronze cases will be produced, retailing for 2,900 euros at Rick Owens boutiques and the online stores of Rimowa and the Paris-based American designer. The cases are to launch on Jan. 30, as reported.
Rimowa said the bronze exterior required “a meticulous, manual pigment application process,” which means “no two suitcases are exactly alike” and the patina will evolve as the case ages, “adding to its uniqueness.”
Each bag comes with a lifetime guarantee, and a luggage tag made with “hair-on calfskin” at Owens’ production site in Concordia, Italy.
Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert, Rimowa’s chief executive officer, lauded Owens’ “fearless approach,” which “inspired a collaboration that challenges convention at every step. We reimagined the limits of our manufacturing to deliver a piece that celebrates creativity and craft at their highest level. Rick Owens brings an unapologetic edge to everything he touches.”
To wit: Owens conscripted his wife and creative collaborator Michèle Lamy to pose for photos next to giant rolls of aluminum at Rimowa’s factory in Cologne, wearing a jacket with jutting shoulders and padded gladiator boots.
Michèle Lamy at Rimowa’s factory in Cologne.
