Rimowa CEO on the brand’s history, innovation and 125th anniversary exhibition in Tokyo

In our 10 Minutes With ... Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert, the Rimowa CEO shares his thoughts on the future of travel and why a suitcase can be with you for a lifetime

German luggage brand Rimowa celebrated its 125th anniversary with a retrospective exhibition in Tokyo’s Shibuya neighbourhood in June. Seit 1898 (or “Since 1898”) showcases a series of modular dioramas highlighting aspects of the company’s history.

This ranges from the familiar grooved aluminium cases first introduced in 1950 and inspired by the corrugated cladding of a particular series of aircraft, to marketing campaigns, to one-of-a- kind items like wine carriers, as well as artist editions and collaborations with brands including Fendi, Supreme and Off-White. The archive of more than 100 pieces also features rarely seen suitcases belonging to celebrities including musician Pharrell Williams, basketball legend LeBron James, artist Takashi Murakami, designer Hiroshi Fujiwara, and renowned tattoo artist Dr Woo. There’s even a house made from aluminium and polycarbonate, the materials the brand uses in its luggage.

We spoke to the maison’s CEO Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert about the evolution of the brand’s innovation, craftsmanship and, aesthetic identity, and how it’s been documenting the history of travel.

Above Artist Takashi Murakami’s personal Rimowa suitcase (Photo: courtesy of Rimowa)

Above Tattoo artist Dr Woo's Takashi Murakami’s personal Rimowa suitcase (Photo: courtesy of Rimowa)

The Seit 1898 exhibition celebrates Rimowa’s 125th anniversary; what’s the significance of this milestone for the brand and its customers?
It was important for us to tell the world that we are 125 years old, and use this opportunity to get people to understand some new facets of our brand—starting with the fact that we are a German brand. That’s why we decided to [use a German word in the title,] “seit”, which means “since”. The exhibition is to also showcase the versatility of our brand— quality, sustainability and design—but also the disruptive elements of our story, starting with the creativity of Rimowa. We didn’t want to have an exhibition that is rooted in the past, [but one] that is really highlighting from past to future.

What is your favourite piece in the exhibition?
It’s a fairly recent product: the violin case. I watched [its development] from the first day—and this project took five years to happen. Being German engineers, we are constantly challenging ourselves with quality details. It’s a big responsibility to [protect] a violin because it’s the most precious tool for [a violinist]. Before we could say we were ready, there were five years of trying to work on elevating each possible detail. I felt very excited and proud when I saw the product.

Photo 1 of 5 The sound stage at Seit 1898 exhibition (Photo: courtesy of Rimowa)

Photo 2 of 5 Rimowa's exhibition unravels the maison's lasting legacy, starting with its inspiration from aviation (Photo: courtesy of Rimowa)

Photo 3 of 5 The structure of a classic case as shown in the exhibition (Photo: courtesy of Rimowa)

Photo 4 of 5 Rimowa Salsa Crocodile Case, created for a 2012 campaign (Photo: courtesy of Rimowa)

Photo 5 of 5 The three-stop touring exhibition to celebrate RIMOWA’s 125th anniversary opened with Tokyo

Rimowa has expanded its product line to include accessories and collaborations with fashion designers since the LVMH takeover, what’s the strategy behind this expansion?Can you share any new products or initiatives?
I guess it’s twofold. When Covid came, we were selling only suitcases, and we were forced to reinvent ourselves to some extent. We had been working on lifestyle products but there was no urgency to do that. Covid has created a sense of emergency, and that's when we decided to launch collection [featuring a diversity of products], which was sold by category.

The second part of the strategy is to move from travel to mobility. [Meaning] to move from the exceptional: because for most people travel is exceptional, it’s exceptional to take a train or to aeroplane to mobility, which is really daily, going to work, wearing a backpack, maybe riding a bike. So it's a new type of travel. And for us, it's a super interesting challenge to enter that journey.

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Can you share any new products or initiatives?
We have launched “Re-crafted”, a second-hand project, which started in Germany and is now also [available] in Japan. If you have an old aluminium suitcase, you can bring it back to us, we will buy it back from you with a voucher [to go towards a new case]. Then we will repair your old suitcase and either recycle it or resell it. We will launch the service in the US, Korea and [other] markets in the next few years.

[Our lifetime warranty] complements the message that not only do we feel so confident we can repair your suitcase for a lifetime, but also that, if one day you want to change, why not? We will buy it back from you; that, for me, is quite interesting.

What role do you see the brand playing in the future of travel?
The way people travel has changed towards taking more responsibility, and [we want to] exemplify this change. When we do a lifetime guarantee, there’s a lot of pressure on us. It’s no good buying a suitcase that, if it breaks, [you’re] going to have to throw away and get a new one. No. What we want is that if it breaks—they might break—[you can] bring it to Rimowa and they will repair it and there you go, [ready] to start a new life.