Home improvement stores, hobby shops and camping gear reported a surprise Covid boost to earnings last year. This was largely put down to more people taking fewer holidays, closer to home. Disposable income which would otherwise have gone on overseas travel was being spent elsewhere.
This can only explain the aberration which has landed on the luggage carousel of designer Louis Vuitton.
The luxury fashion house has revealed a winged duffel bag in the shape of a de Havilland jet. The only thing more striking than the bag's questionable aerodynamics is the price tag.
It costs $55,220.
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Advertise with NZME.Perhaps it is a cynical appeal to cashed up travellers with nowhere to go? Or maybe it is high fashion? It certainly won't fit in an overhead locker.
However the internet was quick to gawp at the over-engineered piece of carry on, after a luxury fashion feed shared the price on their social media.
"You can buy an actual plane for less," wrote one disgruntled fashionista on Twitter, who shared an advert for an old Cessna fixed wing plane.
The US Carrier Southwest was quick to join the pile on, tweeting the picture of a plane-shaped plush toy purse with the message: "Ours is SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper".
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Advertise with NZME.Released by the fashion house's creative director Virgil Abloh as part of his 'Spring' collection, many pieces in Louis Vuitton's season reflect themes of classic aviation and travel. It's a wistful nod to the era of carefree aviation and a hope for a speedy return to the skies.
Nobody's taking this piece of luggage as carry on any time soon, that's for sure.
This is not the first time Abloh has turned his attention to planes. In April, last year the designer unveiled a designer Boeing 767-300F he had created for Canadian rap-star Drake.
The designer shared behind the scenes photos of the fit-out, along with some of the problems his creative vision came up against while working airside as a fixed-base operator.
With space for 30 guests the private jet is worth $185 million according to Business Insider, which puts the cost of luggage into perspective.
Abloh trained as a civil engineer and architect, landing the role of creative director at Louis Vuitton three years ago. At the beginning of the year he described the collection as a investigation of "Tourist versus Purist" archetypes.
"It's my organising principle for my point of view when I make things," he was quoted by Vogue in January.
"A tourist is someone who's eager to learn, who wants to see the Eiffel Tower when they come to Paris. The purist is the person who knows everything about everything."
