rimowa | the hybrid stone collection

Serenissima.
Away from the crowds,
Hotel Cipriani offers
the luxury of privacy.
belmond.com

What do a bartender, the entrepreneur behind Sea Containers, a famous architect and George Clooney have in common? The answer is Hotel Cipriani in Venice, the star-studded venue that has been synonymous with la dolce vita for almost 70 years. To understand its story, however, we must travel further back than that…

Back in 1927, a Bostonian by the name of Harry Pickering walked into the bar of the Hotel Europa-Britannia in Venice, which he often frequented. Unfortunately, he had run out of funds, but a young – and rather generous – bartender lent him 1,000 lire to purchase a ticket home. It was not until 1931 that Pickering returned, but when he did, he paid back his debt fourfold. The bartender, born in 1900 in Verona, was called Giuseppe Cipriani. He used the cash to open his own bar, which he named after his American benefactor.

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The place to be.
The hotel’s pool – the largest in Venice –
is the symbol of the city’s dolce vita

A legacy project.
Peter Marino in the newly designed reception area

text

Room with a view.
Hotel Cipriani’s site boasts 270-degree vistas of the water.
The Dogaressa Signature Suite, for example,
affords a beautiful view of St Mark’s bay.

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words. Huma Humayun
images. Courtesy of Belmond

Natasha Poly, Daiane Sodré, Candice Swanepoel, Amelia Gray and Ming Xi by Steven Meisel.

There was a time when the gym bag was something you tried to hide before heading anywhere else; ALO would now like us to consider the possibility that it might be the best-looking thing we carry all day. For Autumn/Winter 2026, the Los Angeles wellness label returns with the second chapter of its handbag collection, bringing new silhouettes, Italian-made leather, a clever new take on mesh and, for the first time, a full range of small leather goods.

Following the previous collaborations with Bella Hadid and Kylie Jenner, the latest collection is taken over by fashion photographer Steven Meisel, who returns with a high-energy campaign featuring supermodels Amelia Gray, Candice Swanepoel and Daiane Sodré alongside newcomers Ming Xi and Natasha Poly.

“Building on the iconic visual language of our first bag campaign, we wanted to evolve the story through new faces, unexpected propping, and a greater sense of movement,” says Summer Nacewicz, ALO’s Executive Vice President of Marketing & Creative. “Steven brought an energy to the imagery that feels both sexy and inherently sporty – capturing the confidence, magnetism, and momentum that define the women who carry these bags.”

Natasha Poly and Ming Xi by Steven Meisel.

At the centre of the collection is the new Unwind Cinch, a softly structured silhouette arriving in medium and mini sizes, with the proportions designed to accommodate the realities of daily life without looking remotely like standard gym equipment. The bag comes in black, espresso and warm gravel, with each paired with one of ALO’s Intention Crystals: Smoky Quartz, associated with grounding and protection, or Yellow Tiger’s Eye, which the brand links to confidence, courage and personal strength.

Leather Mesh brings another twist to the collection, taking one of ALO’s most recognisable sporty materials and translating it into Italian leather. The laser-cut pattern creates an airy, perforated surface before each piece is finished by hand in Florence, and the fabrication appears across the Mini Unwind Bag, Shoulder Voyage and Tranquility Tote. “We were inspired by one of the most prominent fabrications in our line, mesh; and wanted to interpret it in leather to create something entirely new,” says Abby Gordon, ALO’s Chief Design & Merchandising Officer.

The Shoulder Voyage gives ALO’s familiar Voyage silhouette a more compact shape suited to everyday wear, while the Leather Mesh Tranquility Tote takes the same perforated treatment into a larger carryall. Elsewhere, the collection continues with more traditional leather versions, all made in Florence from responsibly sourced Italian leather and finished with hand-painted edges and custom-forged hardware.

Amelia Gray and Candice Swanepoel by Steven Meisel.

For the first time, ALO is also moving beyond bags with a small leather goods collection comprising a card holder, zip card holder, zip around wallet, passport cover and small crescent pouch. The pieces are made using the same Italian leather and construction as the handbags.

The ALO Autumn/Winter 2026 Accessories Collection is now available to preorder at ALO Sanctuaries worldwide and online. Purchases will start from 16 September. Discover more here.

photography. courtesy of Steven Meisel for ALO
words. Gennaro Costanzo

Dana Lixenberg, Daniel Arnold and Feng Li for Rimowa.

Our daily commute probably doesn’t feel worthy of an entry in a travel diary, but Rimowa believes the journey from A to B doesn’t always have to be dull. For its latest campaign, the German Maison expands its ‘Never Still’ leather collection with a series of compact silhouettes built for routine travel, following people through Amsterdam, Los Angeles and Shanghai. Photographers Dana Lixenberg, Daniel Arnold and Feng Li track and frame the shortest daily journeys as stories worth documenting, finding beauty in the most ordinary moments.

The update introduces two rich colour choices: a deep, smoky Anthracite grey and a muted Mocha brown, both engineered from full-grain leather that naturally patinates over time. The signature Never Still Flap Backpack debuts in a smaller size in the new Mocha hue, featuring the house’s iconic embossed luggage grooves alongside a padded back panel and a suitcase attachment sleeve. This joins a permanent large option in Anthracite, running parallel to the new Never Still Leather Duffle systems which land in large and medium configurations. For lighter transit, the collection introduces a compact, zipped Cross-Body Bag and the sleek Leather Zipped Tote, an entirely black, pebble-grained companion proportioned to hold a 13-inch laptop in place of a traditional briefcase.

Dana Lixenberg, Daniel Arnold and Feng Li for Rimowa.

Dana Lixenberg, Daniel Arnold and Feng Li for Rimowa.

The new Anthracite colour also makes its way into Rimowa’s Distinct collection, giving the leather suitcase a darker, smoky character. Made at the Maison’s historic Cologne factory, the Cabin combines its signature grooves with lightly pebbled leather, colour-matched aluminium corners, palladium hardware and a robust leather-wrapped construction designed to develop a unique patina through long-term wear.

Travel does not always mean boarding a plane or disappearing for a month; sometimes it means a train, a taxi, a walk across town or simply carrying everything you need through another very busy Tuesday. ‘Never Still’ is designed for all of it.

Dana Lixenberg, Daniel Arnold and Feng Li for Rimowa.

Dana Lixenberg, Daniel Arnold and Feng Li for Rimowa.

The expanded Rimowa leather collections are available now across global flagship boutiques and online. Find out more here.

photography. courtesy of Dana Lixenberg, Daniel Arnold and Feng Li for Rimowa
words. Gennaro Costanzo