BAGGAGE CLAIM CHIC: It’s fitting that David Fischer got the idea for Premium Economy while actually on a flight.
“When you look at the lifestyle suitcase market, you are essentially looking at two or three brands that dominate it and as a result, everybody has the same suitcases in the same colors,” said the founder of Highsnobiety, who came up with the concept of a customizable adhesive brand while flying from Berlin, where the Swiss media executive is based, to New York.
Designed for hard-shell suitcases, popularized by brands such as Rimowa and Away, Premium Economy offers sticker sets consisting of initials and matching stripe stickers in five color pairings — red and blue, purple and yellow, light and dark green, orange and pink, pink and gray — available in cabin and check-in luggage sizes.
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Inspired by historic aviation codes and entirely made in Germany, the water-resistant sticker sets, which are a pleasingly retro alternative to classic luggage tags, can be ordered and customized on the brand’s web site, and are easily removable from the suitcase’s surface.
Fueled by low airfares and nomadic lifestyles, luggage has moved from being a practical item to an additional style signifier.
“Almost everything in our lives has been ‘luxified’ at this stage, from the fancy salt that you use in your kitchen and the cosmetics in your bathroom, to the suitcase,” said Fischer. “If you care about your look, if you care about your sneakers or your handbag, why wouldn’t you want to express yourself with your suitcase as well?”
Citing brands such as Rimowa, Tumi, Away and Horizn Studios, Fischer saw luggage as a clean slate for customization.
“I have this beautiful premium suitcase and yet it is the exact same as 20 other people on this flight,” he said. “The way old-school luggage brands have been adding the initials of their owners to leather luggage for over a hundred years felt like the perfect addition, yet we wanted it to be easy, fun and interchangeable. The sticker was the perfect way to achieve that.”