Samsonite is about to get sporty.
Activewear brand Adidas and Samsonite have formed a partnership in which the maker of travel bags will manufacture and distribute Y-3 accessories.
Y-3 is a collaboration between Adidas and Japanese ready-to wear designer Yohji Yamamoto. The apparel is a combination of fashion and sportswear, and the new accessories lines will reflect the same mood. Y-3 has had some accessories in the past, but this is the first accessories license. The Y-3 travel accessories and leather goods produced by Samsonite will start with goods retailing for next spring. The brand has had eyewear for the past four seasons.
“Y-3 has been born from the fusion of the seeming opposites of sport and style,” said Yamamoto, creative director of Y-3. “Together with Adidas, we worked with forming something that didn’t exist and that would completely project into the future.”
Beppi Fremder, chief marketing officer of Samsonite, said: “Both Samsonite and Adidas have a shared commitment to excellence in product innovation and customer satisfaction,” and this initiative will “support the growth of the Adidas and Y-3 bags and travel business. This partnership will allow us to optimize our synergies, combining the strength of the Adidas Y-3 brand with Samsonite’s know-how and expertise in the bags and travel segment.”
Samsonite has dabbled in the luxury and fashion sector the past several years, with collaborations with designers such as Alexander McQueen, Marc Newson and Viktor & Rolf. Samsonite also has a signature Black Label luxury luggage line. Samsonite holds a majority stake in Lambertson Truex, the 10-year-old American luxury accessories brand that was put up for sale in December and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month.