Samsonite’s New Proxis Suitcase Takes Travel To New Heights—Literally

A few weeks ago, I stood in the shade of an airplane hanger in the Nevada desert and watched as three British engineers wearing identical black t-shirts mounted a bright orange carry-on suitcase onto a camera rig, hooked it up to a high-altitude balloon, and launched it into space. And that wasn’t the weirdest thing that happened to me that day.

The lovely lads at Sent Into Space—a British team of marketers and engineers that work with brands to literally launch products into space—were helping veteran luggage brand Samsonite road-test (space-test?) the durability of its new Proxis suitcase by launching it 130,000 feet into the stratosphere and letting it crash back down to Earth.

The journey was accomplished using a stratospheric balloon filled with renewable hydrogen gas. The rig was equipped with a flight computer with satellite and radio communications systems that allowed the Sent Into Space team on the ground to track the rig’s position in real-time and recover the suitcase swiftly upon its return to Earth. A self-deploying parachute system brought the suitcase down at a safe and controlled speed, while a fleet of 360 degree- and 4K camera systems documented the journey.

“The Proxis was a perfect passenger for our flight,” Sent Into Space’s Head of Projects, D., Chris Rose said. “Incredibly robust, even in the freezing vacuum of space where the temperature drops below -85°F, but light enough to meet our stringent weight requirements—I’d love to take one on every spaceflight!”

The case survived its crash-landing thanks to something Samsonite is calling Roxkin technology—a new material composed of 28 layers of polypropylene designed to bounce back into shape no matter what happens to it (yes, you can stomp on it, kick it, drop it, bang it). The new material is also ultra-lightweight too: the Proxis carry-on weighs only 4.6 pounds.

It’s practically a superhero in suitcase form.

Lightweight Meets Resilience

For most of us, luggage isn’t something we actively think about—until we’re standing at the baggage carousel, hoping that the gleaming suitcase we splurged on is as indestructible as advertised. But while we see luggage as a utilitarian accessory, the Samsonite team see it as a design frontier, a canvas for technical ingenuity.

“Roxkin isn’t just about adding a new feature; it’s about transforming the travel experience,” Uliyanna Bopanna, Samsonite’s Vice President of Design and Innovation, told me.

With Roxkin, Bopanna and his team have created luggage that can withstand everything from the baggage handler Olympics to yes, a trip into space.

Creating Roxkin itself was no small feat. It involved five years of research, a factory setup with machinery the size of two tennis courts, and an uncompromising vision of durability that only a VP of Design could stick to. “The goal was to create something lightweight without compromising on strength or durability,” says Bopanna.

Samsonite’s approach to luggage is as varied as its global customer base. While some brands crank out the same suitcase in different colors, Bopanna’s team is obsessively responsive to regional and individual travel needs. The Samsonite team designs with specific travelers in mind, whether it’s a CFO clocking a quarter-million miles annually or a first-time backpacker.

Bopanna’s strategy focuses on creating variety without sacrificing the brand’s identity. “We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach,” he says. “Instead, we craft styles and features tailored to different types of journeys.” This can mean subtle design tweaks that honor regional preferences: European travelers, for instance, prefer sleeker, lighter handles and minimalistic interiors, while American travelers tend to appreciate designs that look robust enough to survive a wrestling match with a jet engine.

Roxkin encapsulates this philosophy. It’s designed as a ‘global’ suitcase, capable of pleasing Samsonite’s diverse, international clientele without feeling cookie-cutter. And in a sea of identical bags on the baggage carousel, this tailored approach is what helps this line stand out.

Sustainability as Standard

For Bopanna, sustainability isn’t an afterthought—it’s a core component of the design process. Samsonite sees Roxkin as a product that reflects this commitment, emphasizing longevity, quality materials, and a design approach focused on recyclability and durability.

“The most sustainable product is one that doesn’t need to be replaced,” Bopanna explains. To that end, Samsonite focuses on durable, high-quality materials and thoughtful design that extends each product’s lifecycle.

For Bopanna, this is also about scale. “With every new innovation, we’re asking how we can reduce our footprint,” he says, hinting at a future where Samsonite’s environmental impact stretches beyond just the bags themselves.

Looking Ahead: Tech Meets Travel

Bopanna’s team is already looking ahead, applying the lessons learned from Roxkin’s development to new collections, such as the Proxis line. These advancements include Proxis’s proprietary suspension wheels, featuring built-in shock absorbers that deliver a smooth ride—proof that sometimes, it’s the small things that make all the difference.

Bopanna envisions a future where Samsonite continues to lead with technology-driven solutions. “We’re committed to raising the bar,” he says. “Each innovation, whether big or small, is about enhancing the travel experience. Roxkin is a perfect example of how high-quality materials, thoughtful design, and sustainability converge into one incredible product.”

For the rest of us, it might just be time to start appreciating our suitcases a little more—and to rethink our own ideas of travel endurance.

Q&A with Uliyanna Bopanna

For a deeper dive into the mind behind Samsonite’s innovation, here’s our full conversation with Uliyanna Bopanna, where he shares his journey, his inspirations, and his vision for the future of travel design.

Your design career spans multiple industries and innovations. Could you walk us through the pivotal moments that have shaped your career?

Since I was six or seven, I’ve been fascinated by how things work: why is something shaped a certain way, what might happen if they were different, or how they could be improved. My dad was amazing at making, fixing and tinkering, and I loved joining him on weekend projects, whether it was building furniture, fixing appliances and toys, or working on his prized 1975 Lambretta. This was the genesis of a lifelong curiosity in the “how, why, what-if.”

I became a bag designer by chance, but within weeks of interning at Timbuk2 bags in San Francisco, I knew I’d found my path. I loved the brand, its mission, and the privilege of expanding the product line from 6 styles to over 60 ranging from backpacks and women’s bags to the brand’s first luggage collection, technical hardware, and more. With the guidance of great managers, mentors, and friends, I learned the ins and outs of bags, luggage, and the broader softgoods industry. But after 7+ years as a bag designer, I was ready for a new challenge.

In 2015, I co-founded a VC-backed fashion jewelry brand, with a close friend and former colleague. That same year, I partnered with Jane Chen (of Embrace baby warmer fame) to create the baby apparel brand, Little Lotus. My time with these startups was both exhilarating and challenging: showcasing jewelry at New York and Paris Fashion Week, receiving heartfelt gratitude from parents for Little Lotus swaddles—alongside product recalls, manufacturing issues, and even a last-minute acquisition fallout. Those years were some of the most creatively fulfilling yet physically and mentally demanding of my career.

At the same time, I taught soft goods design as an adjunct professor at my alma mater, The Academy of Art in San Francisco. Teaching gave me the chance to influence young designers and, importantly, reminded me of my true passion: softgoods and bag design.

For the past six years as VP of Design at Samsonite, I’ve led the product and innovation direction across multiple brands in the Samsonite portfolio. Each brand has its own identity, keeping my team and me constantly inspired and challenged, while the positive impact our products have on customers brings genuine satisfaction.

How have these experiences informed your approach to design, and—more specifically—your design philosophy at Samsonite over the last 6 years?

My background in mechanical engineering and industrial design grounds my approach to balancing aesthetics, functionality, and problem-solving. While my technical side drives my design direction, my love for art and music brings a creative flair and soul into the things I make.

My core design philosophy is to keep pushing Samsonite forward by creating products that truly delight customers—whether through breakthrough innovations or by addressing everyday pain points. While Samsonite’s 115-year legacy is meaningful, our leadership is defined by our constant product improvements, both big and small, that make us the best choice for every journey our customers take.

How has your approach to design/your design philosophy changed and shifted over the course of your time at Samsonite, reflecting or mirroring industry trends and people’s attitudes to travel? What trends or shifts have you noticed in particular that have made your job easier or more rewarding?

The most obvious trend today is that luggage and bags have evolved beyond mere utility to become extensions of a user’s taste and personality. This shift lets us design products with soul and character, rather than focusing only on function and practicality.

The needs of a CFO who travels 200,000 miles a year differ greatly from those of a junior designer on their first international holiday. What they have in common is the expectation that their luggage will endure the demands of travel while reflecting their personal style. Unlike brands that have one or two styles that are expected to work for everyone, we design specific products to serve specific users, their journey types, and price points.

There’s been an ongoing trend in consumer goods brands creating a singular visual identity, where there’s minimal design variations between products—often reducing individuality to minor color changes. Practically, this creates issues too, like the sea of identical bags on airport carousels. This singular design identity works for some product categories like consumer electronics or high-end luxury items, but our diverse customer base expects more from us.

My design philosophy at Samsonite aligns more with footwear brands that offer a range of styles for different use case scenarios. We intentionally design a considered assortment of styles that focus on business, outdoor adventure, or casual travel. These differ in materials, features, styling, and price points but they’re all unified by reliable quality and consistent details that speak to the Samsonite brand identity.

The most rewarding part of my job is the work we’re doing to make sustainability a core part of our products and processes. We’re well ahead of the competition, and we’re driven by the responsibility to lead with our planet in mind. There’s much more to come on this in the months ahead.

Let’s chat about Proxis. Can you share the guiding principles that influenced Proxis’s aesthetic and functional design choices? What challenges did you face in integrating advanced materials while maintaining the brand’s timeless appeal?

Proxis and its proprietary Roxkin material build on the revolutionary Curve material that transformed luggage design back in 2008. Both materials were developed by our European R&D team based in Oudenaarde, Belgium. Curve and Roxkin are incredibly strong, lightweight, and resilient, with the ability to bounce back to their original shape even after extreme stress and deformation. But Roxkin takes it further, with a much higher sustainability quotient and manufacturing efficiencies.

Proxis is a perfect harmony of form and function. Its shape and design enhance Roxkin’s strength and resilience, achieving an ultra-lightweight build that’s exceptionally durable and flexible. The interlocking convex and concave pattern maximizes flexural strength while minimizing weight and thickness, and simultaneously creating a unique visual style.

Developing Roxkin was a major feat, taking over five years before it was even launched in the market. The machinery alone, the size of two tennis courts, and the precision needed for molding are only found at Samsonite’s European factories, where every Proxis piece is crafted with meticulous care.

Can you discuss your team’s approach to material selection and structural design, particularly the trade-offs and innovations that allow Proxis to achieve this balance? Were there moments where compromises had to be made, and how did you address them?

At Samsonite, we focus on long-term ideas rooted in timeless aesthetics and feature innovation, designed to make life simpler for our customers.

The lightweight, durable design of Proxis will eventually influence our entire lineup and even the broader luggage industry. We’re already applying key weight-saving insights from the Proxis development to new products, starting with our recently launched UpLift collection.

We’re also bringing Proxis’s proprietary suspension wheels into other collections. These wheels have the equivalent of a shock-absorber built into each wheel and these deliver one of the smoothest rolling experiences available.

In Europe, strict airline weight restrictions and high fees are common, so lightweight luggage is a critical purchase driving decision for customers. I see this trend spreading globally, as people recognize the advantages of using lightweight luggage—but only if it’s durable. That’s where our quality and reliability set us apart.

Your career emphasizes design innovation, which can be hard to sustain. How do you cultivate a culture of innovation on your team, particularly in a field where functionality is so critical? What methods do you use to foster creativity while maintaining alignment with Samsonite’s values?

To me, innovation isn’t just about breakthrough materials, patents, or transformative ideas—it’s about making a real impact by solving problems and enhancing the user experience. This might mean something as revolutionary as the ultra-light Roxkin shell or as subtle as a perfectly placed pocket that’s easy to access without looking. At Samsonite, we’re constantly refining our major innovations while also focusing on the small, everyday details that matter just as much to our customers.

Designing for Samsonite’s global audience requires understanding diverse user needs. Could you share how cultural insights influence product design at Samsonite? For example, are there features in Proxis designed to appeal to varied international markets or unique travel habits?

As a global brand, we understand the diverse preferences of our customers across regions like Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. In Europe, for example, lightweight luggage is a top priority. Customers favor slim trolley handles and minimal interior organization to keep the weight down. In contrast, U.S. customers often prefer handles that look strong and robust. All our luggage handles, whether slim or robust, are designed to meet the same rigorous testing standards, but we tailor their style and appearance by region to match customer expectations.

Proxis, however, is a truly global product—available almost anywhere in the world Samsonite is sold. For global products like this, we carefully balance regional preferences with Global trends and behavior patterns to create solutions that meet the needs and tastes of customers worldwide.

What insights from testing or consumer feedback led to a shift in Proxis’s design during development? Is there an example where real-world feedback directly impacted the final product?

We consistently test all our products (Real world consumer testing and QC) prior to launching it in the market. There are multiple details on Proxis and other styles that have helped improve these styles. Almost all comments were suggestions to improve the consumer experience.

Can you share any new approaches your team is considering in sustainable material sourcing, lifecycle management, or recycling? How do you balance environmental goals with the durability and luxury expectations of Samsonite’s customer base?

Sustainability has been a core focus for Samsonite in the past five years, extending beyond our products and materials to encompass supply chain, infrastructure, and governance. Our first approach to sustainable product design is longevity—using high-quality materials to enhance durability and designing for easy repair. Additionally, we incorporate as much recycled content as possible and continuously explore ways to minimize each product’s carbon footprint.

With Samsonite’s global scale, our use of recycled materials significantly impacts the global supply chain and the entire luggage industry. Look out for a full update on Samsonite’s sustainability goals soon.

Looking forward, what are your aspirations for Samsonite’s design future? What principles or technologies are you most excited to explore? Are there design goals you’re driven to achieve that you believe will continue Samsonite’s legacy of pushing the boundaries of travel?

In the short term, our focus is on continuously enhancing our products with both big and small innovations that improve the user experience and reduce our carbon footprint. Looking ahead, we’re exploring the bigger question surrounding the future of luggage and broadening our approach to sustainability. While this may sound obvious and even a little mundane, I assure you there’s some very exciting ideas and innovations that’s we’re working on.