Tumi unveiled its newest line of luggage, a capsule collection created in partnership with graffiti artist John Matos, and launched a charity auction to benefit AIDS nonprofit Acria on March 22. The 1,000-piece, limited-edition product line—appropriately named Tag—is emblazoned with a whimsical collage of eyes and other shapes from Matos, while the auction features the street murals and other urban art that inspired the work. To mark the launch, the 30-year-old suitcase manufacturer filled Industria Superstudio in the West Village with a medley of projected visuals, images of New York, and Matos's previous work.
Tumi tapped ad agency IC3 Creative to conceive and execute the event, an evening affair that saw a turnout of 300 guests, a performance by bucket drummer Choclatt Jared, drinks from Don Julio, and New York neighborhood-themed trays of hors d'oeuvres.
Inside Industria, the creative crew crafted an immersive setting, illuminating a hallway with moving images of the New York skyline and subway tracks and using Tumi travel projectors to show a video about the collaboration in a white-walled room packed with piles of Tumi luggage. A cyclorama served as a display area for the new collection, with the projection of the central eye motif providing the backdrop. Guests could even make their own artwork, using laser pens to scribble digital graffiti on one wall in the reception space.
To match this scenery, caterer Marcey Brownstein devised a whimsical way to present the evening's nibbles, all inspired by specific New York neighborhoods. The Lower East Side's tray of smoked salmon on potato pancakes was decorated with subway MetroCards, while the mac-and-cheese spring rolls representing Chinatown sat atop a patchwork of "I Love NY" cards.