Beauty may be subjective to most, but for Tumi, it has a pretty objective meaning. For the brand’s “Essentially Beautiful” campaign this Fall 2023, they’re exploring beauty in the little details that make up their best-selling pieces—the 19 Degree collection of travel suitcases. At the launch of their Fall 2023 campaign in Kuala Lumpur recently, we had the chance to chat with the brand’s SEA General Manager Randy Wong to answer for himself, what “Essentially Beautiful” really means.
GRAZIA Malaysia (GM): Can you elaborate more on why this campaign is called “Essentially Beautiful”?
Randy Wong (RW): It’s the name of our latest campaign, but it also embodies a lot about Tumi as a brand. We’re known for design excellence as well as aesthetic function—and with all the products that we’ve made, that’s essentially what we focus on. However, if you look a little deeper into all our products, you can see the fine details. These are the most important components of making beautiful yet functional products. Every single detail, every part, design, and touch, goes into the greater good of the product, which makes it beautiful. Hence the statement, “Essentially Beautiful”.
GM: The 19 Degree collection is the first part of this campaign, is that right?
RW: Yes! For us, the 19 Degree is a very important feature that embodies two mediums. If you look at it, aesthetically, it’s quite stunning. But in terms of function, it performs the way Tumi customers expect it to. It’s durable, extremely easy to carry, and glides effortlessly. At the core of the collection today, you see a lot of new seasonal colourways with the polycarbonate range. These are ultra-light with a durable outer shell moulded from recycled polycarbonate and post-industrial polycarbonate. We wanted to accentuate the craft as well as the material choices while making something that is beautiful and useful for everyone.
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You’ll also see little touches like covered USB charging ports so you have an extra compartment to help power up all your devices while in transit. Beyond that, actually one of the popular—and lesser-known components in the 19 Degree collection is the use of aluminium. It’s a unique sophistication that we added to the collection because consumers like the feel of aluminium while preferring the contours and the beautiful fluid aesthetics. I definitely feel that when I travel with it. It helps me to stand out in the crowd with a little bit of style.
GZ: Earlier, you mentioned your ambassadors for the campaign. What do these two athletes have in common?
RW: They fit the 19 Degree “Essentially Beautiful” ethos. At Tumi, we have a history of working with like-minded people. I think Son Heung-min and Lando Norris both embody a lot of values that we have. We like to work with people that inspire us—and these two gentlemen are at the top of their respective craft. That’s how we want Tumi products to perform every single time you use them—you should trust them. And it should be effortless.
GZ: What does “Essentially Beautiful” mean to Tumi?
RW: It’s beyond just making great products. It’s about the whole mindset of making sure every detail is carefully designed so that they perform, but at the same time contribute to the overall functionalities and aesthetics, which we don’t compromise on. It’s not just about being long-lasting. It’s also providing our customers with a sense of style ethic to navigate through their daily lives, seeking different performance attributes that they seek the new peak of luxury and excellence. It’s a design philosophy. This current season, something we wanted to highlight was hyper craft, which is a hyper-focus on quality, durability, and function without compromising the craftsmanship that we desire in our different products.
GZ: Finally, what does “Essentially Beautiful” mean to you?
RW: For me, it’s every achievement or every experience that I have. There are little details along the way that contribute to the outcome. Each of them is memorable and taken in context. That’s beautiful. It’s the holistic experience that’s enjoyable, beautiful, and well cherished because of these little components that make up that experience. So that’s how I see essentially beautiful, in my context.
Discover the Tumi “Essentially Beautiful” campaign and Fall 2023 collection here.