CEO of Rimowa Alexandre Arnault and Kim Jones are making a New Future

Hypebeast Radio 

How a young, innovative CEO turned a century-old luggage brand into a forerunner disrupting contemporary fashion can be a bit of a mystery for some, but for the 27-year-old it comes as no surprise.

The son of industry icon and Chairman of LVMH, Bernard Arnault, Alexandre was practically born with a business mindset having been exposed to the granular details of the fashion world since a young child.

Alexandre originally met Dieter Morszeck — Chief Executive of RIMOWA and the grandson of its founder – to consult and invest in the brand in hopes of gaining insight into their suitcase-making process.

Because RIMOWA was a family-owned business, Alexandre had no intentions of taking over the company nor was he aware the company was up for sale.

Over the course of 18 months, Alexandre realized that Dieter no longer wanted to pass RIMOWA to his son and instead was looking to sell the company.

Through LVMH’s interest in creating an organic relationship with RIMOWA and its longstanding history of respect and care for their brands, Dieter trusted the brand under the LVMH umbrella. At its core, RIMOWA is a utilitarian object—a quality that Alexandre says makes the company unique in comparison to most retail brands.

Given this distinct positioning, the company’s creative bandwidth has allowed for some of the most notable collaborations in streetwear with brands like Fendi, Off-White™, and Supreme.

These collaborations came about through his organic friendships and desire for the brand to focus on inclusivity, most recently seen in their partnership with Dior.