Hasta La Ideas

With over 40 years of experience in their arsenal, Tumi is one of the most well-known manufacturer of high-end travel suitcases and bags. Named after a Peruvian ceremonial knife used for sacrifices, Tumi possesses a great reputation for the quality, functionality, and durability of their products. In fact, their signature black-on-black ballistic nylon material and handy travel tags have become iconic symbols, allowing people to instantly recognize the brand anywhere! Inspired by their classic designs, Shanghai-based RONG Design decided to focus on the brand’s signature elements and honor them, by recreating them into daily objects that can be used in day to day life. They created a series of products to highlight the transformation of Tumi’s classic products into modern lifestyle pieces.

Deemed ‘Perfecting Yourself’ the collection consists of three products; Life, Path and Strength. These represent the spirit of continuous innovation and improvement that the brand and its products possess. RONG Design focused on Tumi’s three signature elements- the travel tag, the wheel, and their ballistic nylon material. They took Tumi’s travel tag and transformed it into a solar-powered flashlight called ‘Life’. Still retaining the original form of the tag, the new and improved travel tag can be used to light up even the darkest corners. Portable and nifty, it’s the perfect tool when it’s ‘lights out’ time! The second piece in the collection is called ‘Path’. RONG Design adopted the wheels present in all of Tumi’s luggage and created a rolling measurer out of them. Imitating a wheel, ‘Path’ functions as a measurement scale that can be used to calculate the measurements of curved objects. And last but not least is; ‘Strength’. For ‘Strength’ they used TUMI’s black-on-black ballistic nylon to create a wallet. The one-piece wallet showcases the durability and protective element of the ballistic nylon, while also managing to look super smart!

RONG Design has managed to adopt some of the legendary elements of Tumi’s products, and in turn has created a range of modern lifestyle products that are sleek, portable and highly functional!

Designer: RONG design