Rimowa x Tiffany & Co. Collaboration Announced for September
Tiffany blue accents, an exclusive Rock-Cut “diamond” finish and specially designed jewellery compartments, the special three-piece collection is an ode to both houses’ history of crafting excellence.
Seems like it’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s for Rimowa this fall. The Cologne-based luxury luggage manufacture’s latest collaboration sees them flying across the Atlantic to New York for a special three-piece series in Tiffany blue. The special series is instantly recognisable with the pairing of Rimowa’s signature aluminium and Tiffany & Co.’s house colour of Robin Egg Blue reminiscent of select pieces from the jeweller as well as other notable collaborations, e.g. the famed Tiffany Blue Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711, the last of its family to be produced.
First looks courtesy of the two houses are sleek, fun and exciting. Apart from the outstanding Tiffany blue accents inside and out, the aluminium-brushed bodies also come with a special “Rock Cut” design mimicking the surface of a diamond — a nod from one luxury house to another. The trio features a single cabin suitcase and a vanity-cum-jewellery case both in aluminium and a smaller polycarbonate jewellery case decked out in full Tiffany blue.
Seasoned Collaborators
The collaboration is but one of many for the Manhattan jeweller who has run the gamut in luxury partnerships, their portfolio ranging from limited art pieces with American contemporary artist Daniel Arsham to one-of-one special designs like the diamond-titanium “Crown of Thorns” made specially for leading hip-hop artist Kendrick Lamar’s performances. Rimowa themselves are no stranger to collaborations, having done their fair share across the years with notable partners like Moncler and Porsche to name a few.
More contemporary, avant-garde collaborations for the house have definitely picked up since its 2016 acquistion by LVMH, no doubt part of a larger push from the luxury fashion conglomerate towards a mass market audience. In that vein, a Rimowa x Tiffany & Co. collaboration must have only been waiting in drafts, considering that LVMH also bought over the jeweller just in 2021. Second-generation Arnault executive, Alexandre Arnault, has been quoted professing that both brands are “incredibly personal” to him, the collaboration one that he is “thrilled to debut”.
A Meaningful Design?
Rimowa specifically designing jewellery cases for a collaboration with Tiffany & Co. may seem only appropriate, but the underlying impact of the collaboration’s design choices must be read between the lines. The jewellery cases can surely be used for other small objects, but there is just something so irresistibly opulent about reserving cabin space for one’s jewellery — an aspirational kind of luxury that the collaboration has managed to so finely touch on.
Casting aluminium in the likeness of diamonds is yet another layered design choice, considering Rimowa’s history of using aluminium for their luggages going back to the 1930s when a factory fire ruined most of their products, leaving only aluminium to be used for their first suitcases in metal. The “Rock Cut” design is a two-fold metaphor, alluding to the partnership with a storied jeweller as well as Rimowa’s promise of luxury luggages built to last.
It is perhaps therein that lies the success of such luxury collaborations. A meaningful collaboration must succeed not only in the value of what it can do, but also in the impact of what it wants to say. The Rimowa x Tiffany & Co. collaboration is set to release later this month in select Rimowa stores globally and online, 26 September.
The Rock Cut Cabin will retail for S$4,870, the Jewellery Case for S$6,550 and the Jewellery Personal for S$3,020.
All photos courtesy of Rimowa.
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