Fan-favorite Dagne Dover debuts first-ever baggage assortment

Dagne Dover is hoping to make a big splash in the travel world with the introduction of its first-ever luggage collection.

With six distinct pieces, the New York-based brand, which was founded by three women in 2013, hopes to have something for everyone. Offering two checked bags, two carry-ons and two garment bags, Dagne Dover is really jumping right into the luggage space.

To date, the brand has become perhaps most famous for its neoprene backpacks and duffels, which sport plenty of organizational pockets for loose items and tech gear. (Its new luggage collection draws inspiration from this heritage.)

But luggage is a whole different animal, and the Dange Dover co-founders know that. Jessy Dover, co-founder and chief creative director, told TPG in an exclusive interview that the luggage collection is largely a result of not finding the perfect bag on the market right now.

Dover, who began traveling frequently as the coronavirus pandemic subsided, couldn’t find a functional bag that worked for her.

“It was at this time where I was like, I think actually luggage makes a lot of sense for us, and I think we can do it better,” she said.

Now, three years after that first conversation, the brand is ready for its big airport debut. As the team set out to design the pieces, it went about them with four key pillars: durability, flexibility, design and sustainability.

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In terms of durability, the entire luggage collection went through three years of wear testing, both in the factory and on the road, Dover said.

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“Every time somebody wear-tested it, you should see the videos we have from all the different wear testers, whether they’re internal Dagne team members or external people, [they told us] this worked for me, this part came off right, and the like,” said Deepa Gandhi, co-founder and chief operating officer.

That makes the founders really confident that the bags will survive every journey, from cobblestone streets in Europe to safaris in Africa and everywhere in between.

The brand will back up its promise with a limited lifetime warranty.

“We’re evolving our warranty with the injection of luggage, and that’ll include a limited lifetime of the product warranty,” co-founder and CEO Melissa Mash told TPG without providing any more specifics.

In terms of flexibility, one of the key features of the bags is that they can open from both the top and the side, “so that you can be super detail-oriented and organized if you so choose. But also you have the option of just being like throw it in and go kind of person,” Dover said.

The bags also feature the brand’s signature organizational pockets, so you can pack all your miscellaneous last-minute items and cords without worrying about opening the entire bag.

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Personally, I’m the type of packer who exclusively travels with carry-ons, but I rely on the expandable feature of my Tumi Alpha Continental bag to power through the longest trips.

Unfortunately, Dagne Dover is reserving the expandable feature for its full-size checked bags. That said, the co-founders were open to feedback and reiterated that they are coming into this journey with an open mind.

While everyone will likely have a different opinion on the design of the new Dagne Dover bags, they are most certainly on-brand. From the neoprene exterior to the four color choices, these will be unmistakably Dagne Dover.

Sustainability is also something the brand didn’t want to compromise on.

“The exterior material is recycled,” Dover said, “and then the linings are made of reprieve poly, which is recycled ocean plastic. … This is really cool.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge the brand will face with its luggage collection is convincing travelers to splurge. After all, carry-on bags start at $595, and checked bags start at $675.

Those are steep prices, even for brand loyalists who are used to pieces in the $200 range.

Explaining the move upmarket, Mash said that “the pricing strategy was definitely a conversation, but quality really mattered to us. When we thought about our customer base and our like core customer base … we’re like, what is that customer looking for in their luggage? And it was exactly what we were looking for, something long-lasting, high quality, but had that design and then also the recycled element.”

If you’re looking to soften the blow, the brand is offering 20% off its new luggage for those who get the new products and an item from the Travel 1.0 collection.

That said, Dagne Dover has its work cut out for it. Can it convince flyers to splurge for its pieces? They’re certainly not Tumi or Rimowa prices, but they are far more expensive than Away or Samsonite.

The founders aren’t worried, though.

As Dover put it, “If we can do such amazing things with athleisure and work bags, why not just apply that to luggage and see what happens?”

You can catch the full details of the new Dagne Dover luggage collection below.