AHEAD OF THE PACK
When it comes to innovations, Tumi has it down pat. Now, the luggage maker wants to score on the fashion front too, with a respected shoe designer as its creative head. Imran Jalal reports.
Shoe designer George Esquivel puts Tumi on the fashion track.
The last and only time Tumi had a creative director was five years ago, in the form of Nautica founder David Chu. The rest of the time, the American label has depended on an in-house team to design its tech-savvy luggage – until now.
Last February, the brand took on Californian shoe designer George Esquivel to broaden its appeal to women and younger customers, reveals its Asia-Pacific managing director Tom Nelson. What 39-year-old Esquivel has done: Up Tumi’s fashion cachet.
Under his eponymous label (which he continues to run), Esquivel has earned a rep for artisanal rock ’n’ roll-tinged leather shoes that earned him a 2009 Fashion Fund Award nomination from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and US Vogue, a title bestowed upon the next big names in the business. Which might explain why the first thing he’s done at Tumi is to highlight its leather goods.
“It’s not like big machines are cranking these pieces out,” he says. “Tumi has artisans painting the edges and hand-applying zippers. I want to expose more of that.”
His debut collection, called Santa Monica, is a stylish 11-piece line of pared-down everyday bags and small leather goods ($245-$1,485). Crafted from buttery soft tan-coloured lambskin or bridle leather (premium cowhide that’s been waxed for a smooth finish and known for its hardiness and beautiful patina), every style has a handsome old-school touch, complete with hand-stitched finishing.
To up the cool factor: The brand’s signature abrasion-proof (read: tougher to cut through) ballistic nylon forms the lining. Tumi officially has a new side.