Tumi's Top Talent

How did you end up at Tumi? Growing up, I always wanted to be an artist, and then I discovered product design and industrial design. I went to school at Pratt Institute, and then got my degree in industrial design. I was recruited right out of college to work for Kodak, designing digital cameras. It was an amazing time, when digital photography was really coming into bloom. I’ve always had a niche for fashion and explored that side of the creative world, but I never wanted to deep dive into fashion in regards to going to a fashion house or anything like that. But then I discovered Tumi, and it was amazing, because they were exploring the cut-and-sew aspect [of fashion design] but with a product design philosophy. Lucky for me, an opportunity arose, and I was brought on board in 2003 to bring a new attitude and younger consumer to Tumi, which at the time, was really known for its black bags. I was creating a ton of collections, and was getting a lot of traction, but then time had passed, and I decided to explore other things. After a while, I realized that my heart was with Tumi, and the CEO at the time called me back to the brand. Right around 2009, we

started a new journey—it was kind of a second phase within Tumi. The brand has opened itself up to new possibilities as we push more into the lifestyle element and collaborate with some really amazing people—artists, DJs, athletes. Just recently, I have been appointed as creative director of the brand. I feel really blessed to be able to be given the keys to the brand, allowing it to flourish even further. Now, I’m traveling the world and designing. It doesn’t get much better! How many collections are you designing in a year? And give us a sense of the size of the team you oversee. It varies from year to year, but we’re really focusing on our women’s opportunity here, and the team is actually quite small. It’s a solid core of about seven designers, including myself. Then we have a team of developers, both here in New York and also in Asia. We develop luggage collections and bags, accessories, phone cases, jackets, belts, eyewear… anything that we can think of to help protect that journey and to help our customers. How much time are you spending on the road? About six months out of the year. A lot of it is developing

product—going to different locations where some of the best manufacturers are based. I’m working with them hand-in-hand. I spend a lot of time talking with our teams in different regions, and bringing them up to pace with what the vision of the brand is and how we’re moving that forward. That’s always done in conjunction with gaining that inspiration, discovering new places, and observing how people are traveling. It’s kind of a nonstop mix of design and inspiration and observation. What are your favorite destinations these days? When I’m asked that question, I always start thinking about where I’ve had my best meals and the most memorable experiences. The Amalfi Coast is one of my go-to destinations, and whenever I feel like I need to go into the future, Tokyo never disappoints. You’re really passionate about food—how do you do your restaurant research before a trip? I usually call a friend from that area. My father was a chef, so food was a big part of my upbringing. But with good company, it doesn’t matter really what the food tastes like at the end of the day—forming amazing memories is becoming more and more important. Even within the design [of the collections], it’s those interactions and conversations we have with people that help bring out the best ideas. When you travel, are you deliberately hard on your luggage? I always travel with prototypes, and I’m really, really tough on the luggage. The point is to abuse it as much as possible so I can fix all the problems early on. I want things to break on me—I don’t want the customers to have to deal with that. I still have one of the first prototypes from the 19 Degree aluminum collection. I said, “I’m going to keep using this piece until I destroy it,” and I haven’t been able to destroy it. Who else do you enlist to test out new products? Friends of the brand—like pilots and other trusted folks in the industry—who travel way more than I do. Customers also give us great feedback, and when regulations change or new technology comes out, we implement them into our products. You’re really pushing the brand into the fashion space— why are you pursuing that direction? Travel has changed in so many ways, and now, more than ever, luggage is becoming more fashionable. The world is also becoming so much smaller, and people are influenced by so much more. Fashion isn’t just an element or for the elite—everyone has a better understanding of design. Customers want more from the brand, and we want to give it to them. It’s not so much about the functionality and durability—we execute that at a high level. Now, we’re looking at things that are much more fashionable and have an emotional connection with our customer. People who travel want things that are unique. They know that Tumi develops material that not everyone uses. Design is fashion, fashion is design, fashion is technology, fashion is in the streets, travel is fashion, and we want to make sure that all our products express that. What’s the story with your new Mezzanine collection? Nothing irks me more than the fact that women always have to carry two bags with them—their fashionable bag and then a type of work bag. Let’s create one bag that can meet both of their needs, which is what we offer in collections like Mezzanine and Georgica. They’re sleek and clean, but with all the functionality that’s expected of us. Tell us a little bit about your archive. Well, it’s surpassing 400 bags now. I had to do a big edit

because I was running out of space! I have vintage bags, military bags, exotic materials that I’ve picked up along the way…. I’ve been collecting Tumi from the first series. I’m still friends with the founder of Tumi, so if I have any questions, I’ll always ask him. He gets a big kick out of it. How do you feel when you encounter a 20-year-old Tumi bag that’s still in circulation? It’s pretty amazing. On a recent trip, I was standing in line at security with a new limited-edition 19 Degree [piece], and the guy in front of me had one of the first luggage collections that I did nearly 16 years ago, and it still looked good on him. I’ve seen pieces that are, like, 35 and 40 years old, and you can see the miles on them, and I’ll say, “How do you like your Tumi? You should get a new one.” They’re like, “No way. This is it. My dad got this one when he got his first job, and now, it’s mine.” There’s a lot of love for the pieces, and it makes me happy to see that the brand creates products that are not disposable. We don’t create products that end up in landfills. If something does happen to a piece, we can repair it. We’re always looking to improve that journey. If you see me on the road, it will be with some future product in hand. We never stop—we’re always exploring and developing. And there’s lots more to come.