The Aluminium Stool is crowned with a detachable cushion in shades of Emerald Green, Ice Blue and Papyrus Brown (All photos: Rimowa)
Devising a product that simultaneously champions function, mobility and style is a conundrum that has long plagued all niches of the design industry, especially when it comes to home goods. In current times, with space becoming more costly, multipurpose is the name of the game.
The best furnishings come with more than a single use, such as a sofa or futon that doubles as a full-size bed or a book shelf with a fold-down table. A big issue, though, has been making these products fun and appealing to the contemporary consumer.
One dynamic duo rising to the challenge is German luggage maker Rimowa and Swiss furniture company Vitra, which have come together for the Rimowa Vitra 2025 collaboration, starring one of earth’s most abundant and practical metals — aluminium.
Despite pioneering vastly different industries, both brands are united by this key material that has long enjoyed a prominent presence in their respective portfolios. The feature component of the well-known task chairs from the Aluminium Group imagined by American industrial designer Charles and Ray Eames — a series made for the home, office and public places that showcased the polished, chrome-plated and powder-finished surfaces — as well as the Original and Classic suitcase lines that style-conscious jetsetters covet Rimowa for, the silvery-white metal is prized for its light weight and resistance to corrosion, making it a top choice for kitchenware, food packaging and storage containers.
The collection highlights two products, the first being the Aluminium Stool, a new-fangled cubic design that functions as both a mobile perch and storage basket. At first glance, you immediately notice that it echoes the grooved surface and riveted corners of Rimowa’s signature bags. Set on the luggage label’s Multiwheel system, it can easily be manoeuvred around your space to fit wherever you like, whether tucked away under a desk or used as emergency seating for company.
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The hinged cap is crowned with a detachable cushion crafted in Vitra’s Laser RE fabric — an eco-friendly textile fashioned from recycled materials — in shades of Emerald Green, Ice Blue or Papyrus Brown. The same cloth is also used to upholster the interior, padded and quilted for a sumptuous look and feel and safeguarding fragile contents. Cowhide dividers in a darker tone offer various configuration options, allowing you to stack and arrange almost any small to medium-sized object your heart desires, be it magazines and newspapers or glass bottles. Instead of a zip, the box latches shut by pulling a leather strap through a snug hook.
While the stool showcases both houses’ innovativeness and penchant for freshness, its visuals and functions strongly emulate the luggage maison’s. Meanwhile, the Aluminium Toolbox, designed specifically to seamlessly slot into the stool’s interior, is a love letter to one of the furniture maker’s most iconic accessories, the Toolbox, which was conceptualised by Paris-based artist, designer and photographer Arik Levy, an alum of Switzerland’s Art Center College of Design.
Levy’s early career took him to Japan, where he won the Seiko Epson competition and worked briefly, participating in exhibitions. He soon returned to Europe, where his creativity and vision culminated in installations and set designs for opera and dance theatres, before he set up LDesign with partner Pippo Lionni and a group of like-minded creatives. The firm has collaborated with eminent household names such as Baccarat, Ligne Roset, Cartier and, of course, Vitra.
The new receptacle mimics the simple and streamlined form of the original Levy had drawn up in 2010. The earlier model (still available on Vitra’s website today) is made from repurposed plastic that comes in a rainbow of colours, from electric orange to pastel mint. To honour the partnership’s palette, the 2025 iteration boasts an anodised aluminium casing. Fabric matching that of the stool lines the caddy’s inner wall, softening its practical industrialist essence with a little colour and variety in texture. Obviously, it is not meant to only hold actual tools (though if that is what you envision for yours, to each his own), and fits perfectly on a work desk or kitchen island to organise knick-knacks, utensils, stationery and more.
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Jointly produced at both Rimowa’s and Vitra’s factories, these products are extremely limited — only 1,000 stools and 100 toolboxes will be available. Special versions of the German manufacturer’s ever in-demand sticker sets have also been made, transforming signature design elements into adorable motifs. Apply them to the collection items, suitcases you may already own or really any surface you believe could use a touch of fun.
To celebrate the coming together of two distinguished houses, a dedicated installation will take over the Fire Station — a building imagined by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid situated on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Running until June 27, the exhibition aims to spark conversations about mobility and spatial aesthetics, and how smart design can reinvigorate the multiuse piece.
The Rimowa Vitra 2025 collection is now available. Visit rimowa.com or vitra.com for more information.
This article first appeared on June 16, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.
