RIMOWA Reflects On 125 Years And The Evolution Of Travel
The German Maison celebrates its 125th anniversary with the opening of its touring exhibition in Tokyo.
May 15, 2023: To mark its 125th anniversary, RIMOWA is proud to unveil SEIT 1898, a 3-stop touring exhibition that guides visitors through the rapid evolution of travel that’s defined the times since the maison’s founding in Cologne, Germany in 1898. Featuring over 100 cases from its archives and friends of the brand, SEIT 1898 looks back on the cultural and technological forces that shaped the resilient tools of transport we trust today.
Scheduled to open in June 2023, it will make stops in Tokyo (from June 9th to 18th) and New York (from September 8th to 17th) before returning to the place where it all began: Cologne in Spring 2024.
With destinations finally returning to calendars after an unprecedented pause, the retrospective comes at a fitting time to reflect on what it means to move. As we look to the future, SEIT 1898 showcases how the many transformations in travel over the last 125 years have all left their unique mark on the luggage we carry today.
A careful selection from RIMOWA’s extensive archive tells this story. Presented in a series of evocative diorama displays — like a larger-than-life ‘exploded’ RIMOWA Cabin— elements of the brand’s past are expressively reconstructed to mark the materials, places, people, trends, and craft that defined its identity.
Featured throughout the displays are experimental artistic partnerships, rarely-seen privately owned cases from public figures like Patti Smith and Roger Federer, collaborations with brands like Off-White and Dior, pop culture artifacts like the briefcase from Mission Impossible IV, special purpose pieces tailored for anything from poker sets to Stradivarius violins, and items that marked milestone advancements for the brand like the iconic grooves first introduced in 1950.
Together, the curation examines RIMOWA’s many noteworthy contributions to the material culture of travel from the end of the 19th century to today. RIMOWA was founded on the recognition that great ambitions demand resilient companions. For 125 years this legendary brand has been guided by that principle, dedicated to crafting tools with character and longevity in mind — a commitment visible in every new RIMOWA and the lifetime guarantee that now comes with it. SEIT 1898 shares generations of these tools that were made by RIMOWA’s hands, but defined by the discerning travellers that reached for them for 125 years and counting.
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