Planes, trains & automobiles with Rimowa

I must have spotted over 30 Rimowa suitcases at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport last month as I arrived early in the morning — and to think the airport wasn’t very busy at that time of day. But even with bleary eyes and coming from a 14-hour flight, you can spot the very recognizable grooves of a Rimowa suitcase a mile away. Aboard the second-level of the A380, the overhead compartments nestled cabin-size Rimowas in different colors. It was so easy to haul up, pull out and then carry through the huge and confusing CDG Airport’s arrival terminal.

Standing by the carousel and waiting for my own navy-blue Rimowa, I saw one passenger piling her cases on a trolley — a huge cognac-color Salsa Air at the bottom, a medium Salsa Trunk in iced blue, and finally a Salsa Air handcarry on top, also in cognac.

After a few minutes, my own suitcase appeared and I easily pulled it off the carousel.

Rimowa Salsa Air, the lightest suitcase in the Salsa series, comes in 21”, 26”, 29” and 32” sizes and in colors like cognac, ultra violet, Inca gold, aquamarine and navy blue. Available at Adora and Rimowa boutiques in Greenbelt 5, Power Plant Mall, Newport Mall, Glorietta 4, and Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

The Rimowa Salsa Air is the lightest piece of luggage I have ever owned — and I am somewhat of a luggage aficionado. I like them in sets — the smaller one nesting inside the medium, and the medium inside the largest, tucked neatly in my storage cabinet when not in use. In fact, when we were renovating the house, I told my architect I needed a storage cabinet specifically for suitcases and he designed one for me.

If you’ve ever been at Charles de Gaulle Airport, you know how huge, complicated and old it is. Those walkalators encased in glass tubes may have looked cool — futuristic even — when it was built, but today they are worn-out. And the terminal where I landed was quite far from the train station that would take me into Paris’s center. So I was grateful for the patented Multiwheel system of Rimowa, which greatly increases the mobility of the cases. This is a technology adapted from office chairs, so even heavy cases can be rotated on their axis — and mine was heavy, filled with coats and boots.

I followed the “Paris by Train” signs and finally found the right train — more Rimowas on board — and got off Gare du Nord, a huge station that integrates the metro and regional trains out of Paris. A friend met me there and we jumped on another train to her apartment in the 18th Arrondisement. Then we walked to her place — about five blocks from the metro station.

Diane Kruger at an airport check-in counter with her red Salsa

If not for the ease of pulling (or pushing at times) my Salsa Air, I would have insisted on a taxi. Oh, but it was a walkup apartment, too. No problem! We dragged the case up the narrow stairs, the Salsa Air bumping into every step. In fact, it happened again a few days later when we hauled the suitcase into the trunk of a cab.

I wasn’t worried.

Made of polycarbonate, which is used for airplane panels and in vehicle construction, the suitcase is extremely resilient and shock-proof. Dents regain their original form by themselves. Polycarbonate makes it possible to greatly reduce the weight of the case while maintaining great stability. Rimowa is the first luggage manufacturer worldwide to use this practically indestructible plastic.

Even before Rimowa was distributed in the Philippines, people were already familiar with the brand — from their travels abroad and from seeing it in movies and on TV shows. One of its more famous appearances is in Ronin. In fact, the silver Rimowa briefcase that Robert De Niro and his group of former special forces operatives are after is like the main character of the film. Though you never get to see what’s inside the case, it is the center of the film.

Rimowa cases are seen in most movies with an airport scene and on TV shows like CSI and West Wing. Celebrities are also routinely spotted pulling their Rimowa cases in airports. 

Last year, the Rimowa Group manufactured over 750,000 cases and sold them through selected retailers, company stores, and flagship stores in over 65 countries around the world.

Rimowa is the oldest luggage manufacturer in Germany, producing its first case in 1898 in a factory in Cologne. At the time, the name of the company was Kofferfabrik Paul Morszeck. At the turn of the century, the cases were made of wood but the Cologne factory was already setting great store by a design that was as lightweight as possible. Within a few years, Rimowa’s large wardrobe and steamer trunks became the representative travel companions of high society.

Elizabeth Hurley with her ultra violet Salsa

In 1937, Richard Morszeck, the son of the company founder, brought the first steamer trunk made of lightweight metal onto the market. This is only the first of numerous brilliant innovative ideas upon which the global success of Rimowa is based. The brand name Rimowa was derived from the name of the company’s founder (Richard Morszeck Warenzeichen).

In 1950, the first case was made from aluminum with the typical contour structure that has since made Rimowa products unmistakable. The great thing was that the design combined minimum weight with maximum stability. Among the international jet set the contour cases quickly attained the status of cult objects.

Morszeck succeeded with another pioneering development in 1976: The first waterproof transport cases. These were in great demand among film and television crews and with professional photographers and reporters. The waterproof system reliably protected the sensitive equipment of the professionals against water, humidity, tropical heat or arctic cold.

In 2000, Dieter Morszeck, who since 1981 had been the third-generation family member to head the company, for the first time used the recyclable material polycarbonate in case construction. The use of the new material was a concise example of the implementation of Dieter Morszeck’s credo: “Craft meets high tech.”

From 2000 to 2006, product lines were further diversified and equipped with state-of-the-art technology like the patented Multiwheel systems. The new cases are equipped with certified combination locks with combined closing cylinders, which can be opened for inspection purposes by the American Transportation Security Administration (TSA) upon arrival in the USA.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley with her cabin-size Rimowa

Today, you can choose your Rimowa style in delicious eye-catching colors.

Salsa Air, the lightest in the Salsa series (which was the first line made of polycarbonate), weighs up to 26 percent less than the Salsa, despite an unchanged body. It comes in ultra violet, Inca gold, aquamarine, navy blue, and cognac featuring a gleaming metallic look.

What I love about its interior is that both sides of the case have a zippered netting — both for efficient packing and to protect your small stuff from tumbling out if it were only a belt.

The Salsa Sports Trunk is another great option. It’s a great shape that allows for more flexibility inside, like if you’re carrying bulky items — maybe sports equipment or just even something you picked up from shopping. Constructed in polycarbonate plastic, it has a telescoping, locking handle system that reaches 43 inches from the floor. Moms who pack a lot of stuff when travelling with their babies may also want this model.

That trip to Paris was made more convenient — and stylish — thanks to my Rimowa Salsa Air.

* * *

Rimowa is located at the ground level of Greenbelt 5 (757-3048); second level of Adora, Greenbelt 5 (217-4030); ground level of Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati (728-3060); ground level of Newport Mall, Resorts World, Newport City (659-3558); second level of Glorietta 4 (752-7695) and second level of Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong (661-4704).