AWAY BEACH COLLECTION AND THE BRAND'S BOLDEST YEAR YET

## One Carry-On. Then a Decade of Decisions. Vogue called it "The Perfect Carry-On" in November 2015. Vogue announced the creation of the luggage in November 2015, labeling it "The Perfect Carry-On." The suitcase hadn't even shipped yet. That gap between announcement and reality — between the promise of a product and the product itself — is where Away built its entire brand identity. Away launched in 2016 with one perfectly designed Carry-On and has since revolutionized the travel industry by creating a range of luggage and travel essentials. Ten years later, the brand is not coasting on that origin. It is expanding into beach totes, children's luggage, WNBA locker rooms, and now a collection timed to the season most likely to put a suitcase under strain: summer. The Beach Collection is live now. And it tells you more about where Away is headed than any press release could. ## The Cooler Tote Is Not a Gimmick. It Is a Statement. The Beach Collection's anchor piece is built around function first. Designed to keep its chill for up to 9 hours and fit up to 30 cans, with a waterproof zipper, bottle opener, and versatile carry straps so things stay cold and contained all beach day long. That is not lifestyle language. That is a specification sheet wearing a swimsuit. The Beach Tote is made from breathable mesh and water-resistant fabric that dries fast, shakes off sand, and wipes clean. Six exterior pockets keep essentials like SPF, keys, beach reads, and sunglasses right where you need them, while a roomy interior zip pocket and dedicated water bottle pocket keep you organized. Away has always competed on specificity. When competitors sold aspiration, Away sold USB ports and polycarbonate shell weight. The Beach Collection continues that logic: every detail justified by actual use, not just visual appeal. It is also, quietly, a category expansion play. Luggage has a ceiling. Beach bags do not. ## $181 Million In, a $1.4 Billion Valuation, and Still No Exit Away raised a total funding of $181 million over 6 rounds from 27 investors, with a current valuation of $1.4 billion. That number is from May 2019. Seven years without a meaningful public update on valuation, in a market that has compressed DTC multiples significantly, is worth sitting with. Away had competitors reaching for beta blockers when it first entered the space with built-in phone chargers and a unicorn valuation. Now, after surviving a travel-crushing pandemic, a new CEO is answering the call to re-differentiate the brand in a much more saturated market. That new CEO is Jessica Schinazi. With deep expertise across luxury goods, consumer retail, e-commerce, and business development, she brings 15-plus years of global experience and leadership to the role, having held senior positions at Richemont, Amazon, LVMH, and Dyson. Her predecessor Jen Rubio, the co-founder who helped build the brand from a single suitcase into a cultural fixture, moved to executive chair. Co-founder and former CEO Jen Rubio will continue to guide the company's long-term vision as executive chair of the board. Schinazi's background is telling. Richemont. LVMH. Dyson. That is a career built on premium positioning, operational scale, and the particular discipline of brands that cannot afford to be misunderstood. Away is betting that her instincts translate. ## From One Website to Nordstrom, Amazon, and the WNBA Away CEO Jessica Schinazi said the DTC model helped establish an emotional connection with consumers in unexpected categories. "Before Away came to market, no one was buying luggage online," she said. That model is now being deliberately dismantled, or at least expanded. Away's latest leadership shift comes as the brand expands further from its direct-to-consumer traditions. The luggage brand began selling on Amazon for the first time this year and debuted with its first retail partner, Nordstrom, in May. These are not small decisions. For a brand that spent nearly a decade controlling every touchpoint of the customer experience, landing at Nordstrom means ceding shelf space, context, and discovery to someone else's environment. "Now what we're seeing is a decentralization," Schinazi said. "The brand is still as important and the product is still fundamental and critical to the overall experience, but we are going to meet the customers where they are." That includes sport. The Sabrina Ionescu collaboration will mark the first-ever partnership between a WNBA player and a luggage brand. WNBA player Sabrina Ionescu and Away have launched a multi-year collaboration, with a limited-edition collection set to release in 2026. Away has announced a multi-year partnership with New York Liberty guard and four-time WNBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu. The sports-to-luggage pipeline is not new. Away has worked with Serena Williams and Dwyane Wade. But Ionescu represents something more specific: a bet on women's sports as the defining cultural current of 2026, not just a sponsorship category. ## Pixar, White Lotus, and the Collaboration Calendar That Never Stops The Beach Collection arrives in a year when Away has essentially turned itself into a collaboration machine. Just ahead of Season Three, the hit HBO show and Away teamed up to launch an exclusive line of suitcases, carry-on bags, and beach totes. The collab features raffia-inspired accents, Saffiano leather details and a custom lotus flower-printed interior lining. Then, in June, the Pixar play. In total, there are eight new suitcases, four for kids and four for adults; four backpacks; three new packing cube sets; two stadium bags; and a small handful of bag charms and key chains. The entire collection launches Tuesday, June 9th, and will be available only on AwayTravel.com. Toy Story 5 will be in theaters on June 19, 2026. That ten-day window between Away's collection launch and the film's premiere is not accidental. It is a retail countdown engineered to move product before opening weekend puts Buzz Lightyear back in the cultural conversation. Collaborations at this pace risk diluting the brand. White Lotus, Toy Story, Sabrina Ionescu, and a Beach Collection all in the same calendar year is a lot of messaging to hold together. The counterargument: Away's core product is consistent enough that the collaborations read as decoration, not identity. The polycarbonate shell does not change because the interior lining has a lotus flower on it. Away said its bag offerings grew 16% year-over-year in 2024. That number, buried in a leadership announcement, is the most important data point Away has released in years. It means the expansion beyond hardshell luggage is working. The Beach Collection is not a pivot. It is a continuation. ## Schinazi's Thesis: Ease Is the New Luxury Schinazi sees the next decade less as an age of extravagance and more as an age of ease. "True luxury in travel is not about extravagance. It is about ease," she says. "Functionality that feels elevated. Materials that improve with time. Service that anticipates your needs before you even ask." She sees the future of luxury as detail-led rather than logo-led. That is a direct shot at Rimowa, Tumi, and every heritage brand charging $1,000 for a logo on an aluminum shell. Away is positioning itself as the brand that figured out what travelers actually need before the traveler did. The Beach Collection, with its 9-hour cooling capacity and sand-resistant mesh, is proof of concept. According to American Express Travel's 2025 Global Travel Trends Report, 74% of global respondents plan to take one to three domestic trips this year, while 59% plan to take one to three international trips. Those are not weekend warriors. Those are repeat travelers who need gear that survives multiple trips per year, not just one aspirational vacation. The global luggage market is forecast to grow from around 23 billion dollars in 2024 to more than 40 billion by 2032. Away does not need to dominate that market to win. It needs to own the customer who travels three times a year, buys intentionally, and comes back when Away launches a beach tote that holds 30 cans and their whole identity. The Beach Collection is not Away's most ambitious product. It might be its most honest one. A bag for wherever the day takes you, designed by a brand that has spent a decade figuring out exactly what that means.