To see Lewis Hamilton on a small stage in the new Rimowa flagship store in Cologne while being interviewed and answering the questions in a disarmingly honest and sincere way brought to mind the power of a brand like Rimowa, which essentially makes suitcases and small bags but cleverly identifies as a mobility brand and uses the multiple-time F1 champion as an ambassador. “I could walk when I was seven months old so moving around is my ethos in life” said Hamilton dressed in black luxury work wear and enthused that “Rimowa has been a great partner on my journey for the past two years working on memorable campaigns.” No less than 24 different countries are traveled to by Hamilton and his fellow pilots to complete a full F1 season and admittedly an over-packer, Hamilton uses his Rimowa gear to bring along his clothes and most of all favorite pillow and blanket to hotel rooms across the world. “I sleep in the middle of the hotel bed so as not to connect with any energy left by the person who slept there before me” admitted the racing champion who had the audience glued to his lips by speaking about his quest to bring racial and gender equality to his job. “I often ask why I am the only person of color in a room when I join a new team or why there are only men.” explained Hamilton who has set up his foundation  Mission 44 to help black youth to get into the engineering and ultimately racing business. Hamilton arrived from New York – one of his favorite cities – and brought his champion aura to the shop opening; an impressive flex of its marketing muscle by Rimowa.

The new Cologne flagship was many years in the making and is a vast two-story site across from the landmark Cologne Cathedral with its Gerhard Richter-stained glass window and contemporary art tower Museum Ludwig next to a yet-to-be-opened new luxury hotel. It all looks swish and well-designed courtesy of Mike Meiré with suitcase conveyor belts and a customization laboratory on the second floor. Rimowa also hosted a dinner at the Meiré Meiré offices with excellent food by two-star chef Daniel Gottschlich who interpreted German classics like Sauerbraten und Kölsche Schnitte to great effect. Since Rimowa has been part of LVMH its trajectory as a luxury brand has been peerless and it’s one of the growth engines of the group.

Newly arrived CEO Beatrice Monguidi from Louis Vuitton used the occasion to introduce herself to the wider industry audience and builds on a solid foundation laid out by former CEO Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert and Alexandre Arnault who both have found new callings in the empire at Louis Vuitton for Masimbert and the Moët Hennessy alcoholic beverage division for the founder’s son who is developing a knack for improving brands, as his tenures at Rimowa and Tiffany & Co. prove.

The night prior to opening the Cologne flagship, Rimowa hosted the fourth edition of its design prize with a gala at the Kulturforum in Berlin where the brand underlined its philanthropic power and commitment to German design and its leading schools. In his opening remarks, chief marketing officer Mathieu Plenier stated that the number of participating schools grew from 15 to 40 by now, which is impressive. Let’s say this, which luxury brand does not consider itself part of culture or is trying to become embedded in the daily life of their clients? Prizes, galas, and foundations can be tiring and exhausting but Rimowa’s dedication to German design and craftsmanship rings true especially when witnessing the excellent selection of students and their projects who hailed from the Bauhaus University in Weimar to the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Schwäbisch Gmünd. The students have such a serious approach and show off unparalleled research that the funding by Rimowa quantifies as useful support on their career path.

The first prize was awarded to Samuel Nagel and Paul Feiler from Schwäbisch Gmünd, mentored by Siemens Healthineers’ Head of Industrial Design Tim Richter for their project Nura where a wristband translates sign language into spoken language and converts speech into written text. A special distinction was awarded to Niklas Henning from the Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal who was mentored by Leica’s VP of photo & design Stefan Daniel, for his project Paludi Harvester. Having a Leica executive – a beacon of German industrial design – on the jury shows how much prestige this prize has garnered. Henning’s harvesting system was developed to protect fragile ecosystems and the machine looked straight out of Rimowa’s Cologne factory with its gray and silver aluminum tractor and trailer. Our favorite project came from Hamburg’s Hochschule für Bildende Künste with furniture that can fly like kites called Aerodomestics imagined by Valerio Sampognaro.