Don’t be deceived by the pretty pastels and voguish designs. The latest collection from Samsonite Red, the younger, trendier product line of the American heritage travel brand, consists not just of eye candy but also versatile and very functional bags.

Young urbanites with dynamic (read: hectic) lifestyles can find everyday bags they can tweak depending on their needs, such as the convertible Easy Way bag.

Multiple handles and straps can transform the Easy Way as backpack, briefcase, messenger or vertical handheld bag. Modern and preppy, it has enough compartments for gadgets and knickknacks. It comes in bright-and-neutral combos to suit both men and women.

There’s actually an entire suite of unisex items, from backpacks and totes to multi-strap shoulder bags, which Samsonite Red has incorporated in all collections since the product line was introduced three years ago.

Shifting gears

At the time, Samsonite was in the process of shifting gears—from being a company that designs and distributes luggage to a global, premium lifestyle travel brand. The process entailed

creating other brands to tap every market segment.

“Despite their diversity, all of our brands share a common philosophy: to deliver durable, high-quality products that reflect Samsonite’s commitment to excellent craftsmanship, innovative design and exceptional functionality,” said Samsonite website’s brand portfolio.

The new Samsonite Red collection draws its inspiration from Korean fashion and aesthetics, using texture and color as functional but playful design elements.

Most of the bags are water-repellent, semistructured (curved edges and corners), with external pockets that gently protrude like buttons on a laptop keyboard. Zippers and openings are subtle and strategically placed.

The collection is fashioned from durable variants of nylon, polyester, leather or a combination of the fabrics. Accents come in the form of diagonal zippers, straps in complementary colors and zipper pulls in metallic finishing or contrasting hues.

Colors are easy on the eye: vivid oranges, reds and greens; pastel pink, lilac and teal; plus black, charcoal, silver gray, ivory, navy blue and army green.

For the young

Samsonite Philippines Inc. country manager Ciely Buenviaje said adapting modern Asian influences had been a natural progression for the brand, which has experienced a huge leap in market share in the region. Product campaigns in Korea and Hong Kong have done so well that Samsonite Red has enlisted Kim Soo Hyun and Angelababy, young multihyphenate celebrities from Korea and Hong Kong, respectively, as endorsers for the 2014 Spring-Summer collection.

“Samsonite Red is for the young as well as the fashionable and dynamic,” said Buenviaje.

To further drive the message home, the collection launch, recently held at Century City Mall, Makati, featured activities and elements that reflected the tastes of the 25-and-up target market.

A photo wall featured a trampoline to aid guests in their jumpshots. Artists filled a large white wall with quirky illustrations on the spot. Hip-hop dancers wowed the audience with

stunts-laden choreography. And social media buzzed with the hashtag #MyFirstRed, as guests took photos of their favorite Samsonite Red items and posted these on Instagram and Twitter.

The evening’s highlight was a fashion show of the new bags, with style bloggers like Tricia Gosingtian, Laureen Uy and Patricia Prieto making their way on the catwalk along with models who wore top-to-toe Zara.

Versatility

The production emphasized Samsonite Red’s versatility. No matter what the models wore—corporate, casual, print-on-print, in monochromatic or a clash of colors—there was a bag to complete the ensemble in style and function.

Most items are mid-priced, reasonable enough for a purchase that comes with a warranty card on top of the trendy-yet-functional design.

There are convertible gender-specific bags as well, such as the men’s sleek, multi-compartment handheld bag/backpack called Spacco.

For women, there’s Bona, a tote with shoulder strap that’s great for flitting from work to casual activities, and the two-tone clutch/mini shoulder bag Verdi, which is compact but spacious enough for a few essentials.

A week before the Manila launch, we had a preview of sorts in Hong Kong where we spotted many locals using bags from the collection. The Spring-Summer 2014 campaign was also hard to miss, as images of the attractive and stylish Kim Soo Hyun and Angelababy toting Samsonite Red bags were splayed on billboards and floor-to-ceiling wall ads in the cavernous halls of the subway.

Let’s just say we went home with serious bag envy, but at least we now know there’s more to the Red line than meets the eye.

Samsonite has a boutique at Century City Mall, Kalayaan Avenue, Makati. Visit www.samsonite.com, www.samsonite-red.com; follow Samsonite Red Philippines on Facebook.