Jean-Marie Massaud: Globe

Following collaborations with Stefano Giovannoni and Marcel Wanders, Italian leather goods brand Fabbrica Pelletterie Milano (FPM) has entrusted the development of their new line to French designer Jean-Marie Massaud, who ambitions to create a new standard model.

Loredana Mascheroni: The Globe luggage collection was presented recently in Milan and will be in the stores in September. This is the third edition of Fabbrica Pelletterie Milano's (FPM) "In the sign of movement" designer collaborations. What was your "mission"?
Jean-Marie Massaud: The entire project was designed to focus on the contemporary spirit and to expand the products of a highly experienced company with great tradition that has been around since 1946. FPM's owner admires the timelessness of my projects which is why they turned to me.
My idea for Globe was to focus primarily on functionality, an essential condition for business and leisure luggage. And since I believe that there should be only one kind of luggage that is not differentiated for the two uses, I set my sights high. I wanted to create basic and eternal luggage that has no other pretensions than to be effective, lightweight, comfortable and of high quality. I rejected materials like aluminium, which are lightweight and nice aesthetically, but are still fragile or delicate. I sought effective references in professional transportation, the military and the navy. I was searching for a new design so I tried to conceive a very simple volume that would respect the different norms and codes. I then underlined this potential through the reinforcement, which is also a stylistic feature. I designed ribs to make the pieces more rigid without adding thickness which would also have added weight — a technique used for car bodies.
The ribs are convex towards the exterior and have an aesthetic function tied to use. Abrasion due to intensive use causes greater wear on the ribs than on the rest of the bag. So it ages naturally without being damaged, and develops a nice patina. I wanted this feature to become a trademark — technical reinforcement and increased rigidity.

Who is Globe's target audience?
Everyone and no one in particular. I wanted to create a permanent basic collection, like a pair of jeans. That's why I chose a rather boxy shape that works for people who wear Chanel, Jil Sander or just a plain t-shirt. I wanted my suitcases to express the idea of intensive travel which is the real issue today, now that travel is more affordable with low cost airlines. Travel rituals no longer concern planning and choosing certain clothes. Today, all you need is to travel light with effective accessories.

What were your stylistic references?
Formal references are always symbolic for me. They are not tied to one style. Or rather, the style chosen must reveal attention to the project and its content. My only reference was basic and functional military design. I chose colours that would highlight this vision: navy blue, green (military with "reinforcement"), red (Chinese lacquer red with a bit of orange). I didn't have a light colour, so I chose off-white to avoid the same patina that would develop on a pure white piece. These colours blend well with any type of clothing.

The choice of material must have been crucial.
Of course. Crews literally throw suitcases into the containers. If they're not sturdy, it's a big problem that becomes an even bigger one if the suitcase must last ten years. We used several thin sheets of thermoformed polycarbonate. Globe had to be light but not at the expense of robustness. The material was engineered by FPM's technical department. The line will be produced in large quantities so it will be the best value for money, compared to the product's quality.

Today an increasingly important part of the designer's work is helping to contain costs.
This is very important. Increasingly, companies demand high quality objects at the lowest possible prices. Higher quality means a longer life cycle which is synonymous with sustainability; this is the product's responsibility. I am not that concerned with recyclable materials. What is important is that the products remain in good condition for a long time.

Environmental sustainability is becoming an important buzzword in the manufacturing world. Is it just a fad or a practical reality?
Doing better with less and limiting environmental impacts is one of the concerns of our time, but many companies use the issue only for communications purposes. Sustainability can be achieved through different strategies and it is just that people choose what they consider most appropriate. Production processes must be analyzed thoroughly to gain understanding of the relevance, feasibility and economic convenience of the recycling chain. If more energy is used for recycling than producing, it would be better to find other approaches. Much experimentation still needs to be done. As with any process, the first step is the communications phenomenon; this is followed by comprehension, analysis and experimentation. In the end the desired result is obtained. This is the course of any kind of evolution.