The Best Pink Luggage to Buy in 2018

Courtesy of Respective Brands

Anne Bratskeir

May 22, 2018

There is no sign of let-up when it comes to the mad-for-millennial-pink travel bag craze. The light pink luggage trend was born, some claim, by Away, in March of 2017, when the company introduced a limited-edition capsule collection hardside suitcase in blush. The reaction was seismic and the pink suitcases were an almost instant sellout, leaving some 5,000 would-be customers begging for more.

“From the beginning, customer feedback has driven our product line, so it was an easy decision to add the color to our evergreen collection,” Jen Rubio, the company’s co-founder and chief brand officer, told Travel + Leisure. The product, in four sizes (complete with signature interior compartments and built-in USB chargers) was merged into the core collection eight months after the initial blush rush.

A year later, the pink hard-shell luggage is still one of the company’s hottest commodities, according to Rubio. “In a way, pink resonates with the open-minded spirit that’s at the heart of travel,” she says. Others in the industry have gotten the memo: pink luggage sells. Shades that run from whispery ballerina pink to eye-popping blasts of fuchsia are available everywhere at every price point, from luxurious, high-end designer variations to easy-on-the-wallet mass marketer styles.

“The last revolution in the luggage was wheels,” says Ellen Sideri, the CEO of NYC-based ESPtrendlab, a trend forecasting and social research firm. “Color is next. It seems heavy black luggage — more bullet-proof than beautiful — has had its day.”

Perhaps the passion for pink luggage is equal parts feminine and feminist. “Today women travelers see the perfect pairing of brains and beauty in the luggage department on that ‘other runway,' Sideri said. Rubio agrees: “I think we’re shifting to a culture that recognizes that it’s possible to be both feminine and strong.”

Bottom line? While you may be heading out on your next journey, as Sideri puts it, “pink is not going away.” It’s here to stay.