Samsonite Black Label: Concertine, SBL by Alexander McQueen and Tartaruga

I stumbled upon the amazing Samsonite Black Label and couldn't bear to decide on sharing just one collection, so here are three...

The first collection is Concertine. A small but stunning collection, the design inspiration for these purses is the concertina. Love it. When I first saw these they reminded me of a full blossomed flower or the ripe interior of a fruit such as oranges or grapefruits. I love the hybrid of aesthetic references I see, such as Japanese chrysanthemum flowers or the voluptuous and organic qualities of Art Nouveau. The images above are of the Round handbag and Half moon handbag.






































































































































































































SBL by Alexander McQueen is another intriguing collection. The overall shapes of the pieces are soft and, well, approachable, functional. The collection centers around Hero AI1, a suitcase modeled after a human ribcage. Hm... not so approachable treatment. The rest of the collection has a faux crocodile exterior and an interior with a feather print. The colors are gorgeous: a powdery, chalk white, as well as deep browns and rich blacks. I like this collection because it is playful but still a little dark without entering the territory of being cheesy.

The pieces I've selected here are (from the top down): Hero AI1, Spinner AI2 (it has four multi-directional wheels), Boarding Bag for Men (beautiful, classic shape), Travel Wallet (with a nice thumb print detail on the zipper).

You may have also noticed that many of these are on sale. Some items are out of stock but some aren't. If you're in the market for some extraordinary luggage or accessories this may be your chance to snag some...!

























































Last but not least, Tartaruga. Another leap into a different aesthetic pond. Tartaruga means turtle in Italian and Samsonite claims to have reinvented the backpack. This particular bag has a spine protector, consists of four carbon fiber shells that are hinged together to increase flexibility and has some sort of honeycomb structured foam that maximizes shock absorbency. I was seduced by the design and vibrancy of the fuschia. It's also a nice balance in contrast to the other two collections I chose with the hopes of giving you a broad sampling of what I considered to be the highlights of Samsonite's Black Label.