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Luxury suitcases that convert to mini kitchens, offices or beds launch worldwide

Italian suitcases cost up to £6,060 and expand to beds, works stations and mini-kitchen

Ronan J. O'Shea
Tuesday 22 May 2018 16:08 BST
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Designer behind £4000 suitcase talks through its features

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If you've ever felt the need to combine luggage, sleep, cooking or working all in one product, Marc Sadler's Bank Collection may just be the suitcase range for you.

Designed by Austrian-born French designer Marc Sadler and sold by Italian firm Fabbrica Pelletterie Milano, the aluminium and wood suitcases come in a range of designs.

The Marc Sadler Bedstation, with fold out mattress and sleeping bag
The Marc Sadler Bedstation, with fold out mattress and sleeping bag (Marc Sadler)

The Bank Workstation expands to feature a small work desk and a folding chair; it will set customers back £4,302, a snip in comparison to the Bedstation, which at £6,060 has a fold-out wooden frame, sleeping bag, cushion and a side station for accessories and belongings.

The company is also set to release a cook station that comes with a cooking top, mini fridge, built-in power supply and several drawers for cutlery, as well as a foldable chopping table.

In a video accompanying the Bank Collection, Sadler describes the suitcase design as "a kind of safe" with leather features and an aluminium exterior, a contrast of "cosy ambience inside the box" and a strong metal exterior.

The Marc Sadler Workstation, with fold-out chair
The Marc Sadler Workstation, with fold-out chair (Marc Sadler)

While Fabbrica Pelletterie Milano's collection is likely to be one of the most expensive travel accessories out there, it's far from the only unique gadget on the market.

Amazon sells a raft of unusual travel accompaniments including a travel scarf with a hidden secret pocket, an adjustable foot rest, a micro-scooter with a child's suitcase and a pocket-sized iron and steamer, while Uncommon Goods has produced a series of 75 Off the Beaten Path cards designed to entice adventurous travellers to go with the flow on their travels, picking a card from the pack and doing whatever it tells them to do as they travel around.

The Bank Collection may be expensive, it will hopefully survive where others have fallen.

One unfortunate victim of changes to airport regulation is Raden's smart luggage case. The case featured built-in weighing scales, USB chargers and location sensors which informed travellers when their luggage was about to reach the carousel. Unfortunately for the company, changes introduced by most major airlines as to which batteries could be carried on board forced the company to cease production.

Sadler's design could itself run up against regulations in various countries. The mini-kitchen's in-built fuel container, for example, would likely contravene restrictions from the TSA in the US and other regulatory bodies, but the bag would be allowed through security if the gas container were empty.

Another failed venture in the world of travel accessories is The Airport Jacket. The Australian-designed jacket was intended to simplify travel, with detachable pocket panels, 14 deep pockets and a built-in carry bag. A Kickstarter campaign aimed to secure the necessary AU $100,000 in funding, but sadly fell short, achieving just shy of AU $30,000.

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