Turns Out, Iconic Aluminum Luggage Works Great as a Classic Toolbox

A few weeks ago, Rimowa and Vitra — the former an iconic luggage brand and the latter a legendary furniture brand — released a unique collaboration mashing up their strengths.

Called the Rimowa x Vitra Aluminum Stool, it was a hybrid storage-seat that looked like and was built similarly to aluminum rolling luggage. In a word, it was brilliant.

Now, the brand has unveiled another mash-up collaboration piece that’s arguably just as brilliant. The Rimowa x Vitra Aluminum Toolbox is another elegant reinterpretation of the brands’ individual strengths, proving that, sometimes, a product is better than the sum of its parts.

Rimowa

A timeless mash-up

Based on the Vitra Toolbox, designed by Arik Levy in 2010, the two brands didn’t have much to work with. To be clear, that’s not a dig; it’s a reference to just how minimalist this toolbox actually is. Of course, that’s a part of its elegance.

Done up like the kind of container you might see a handyman walking around with in an idyllic American village, it’s remarkably simple and frankly timeless. However, applying Rimowa’s design language to it serves to elevate it even further.

Now, the toolbox is wrapped in bare aluminum, ribbed just like Rimowa’s signature luggage. It even has the reinforcement points on the four corners at the bottom.

For reference, there are three available colorways: Papyrus Brown, Ice Blue and Emerald Green. While all three retain the silver aluminum exterior, the external patch and interior fabric differ.

Rimowa

Simple, stunning utility

As mentioned, the starting point — the Vitra Toolbox — is extremely minimalist. Believe it or not, this Rimowa collab is actually even more stripped-down, just not stylistically.

Whereas the original toolbox has numerous internal organizational compartments, made up of a series of internal dividers, this new take strips those dividers out almost entirely. The one that remains is the central handle, which serves to split the toolbox’s internal storage in twain.

The dual-compartment design might seem a little too minimal to some, but for its purpose — a supplementary toolbox to transport a few essential tools from one place to another — it works extremely well. Of course, if you’d rather just use it as a display piece, there’s no stopping that, either.

There’s just one small additional factor: Rimowa’s bags look best when they’re used. The dings and scratches received in transit give them character and depth. The same goes for this toolbox. Use it, and it becomes more beautiful, more individual and less sterile.

Rimowa

Available now

The Rimowa x Vitra Aluminium Toolbox is now available with three different accent colors on Rimowa’s site for €550 (about $630 USD). Unfortunately, it looks like they’ve all sold out, but there could be a restock in the future.

Rimowa

Rimowa x Vitra Aluminium Toolbox

• $630 at Rimowa

Related Topics