This past weekend Lionel Barber, US managing editor of the Financial Times, reviewed a novel product from Puma, 96 hours: The Manhattan Collection. Its a hard metal suitcase complete with mix-and-match clothes for 96 hours. We're talking everything an executive needs to look wannabe chic for an average length business trip: 3-button jacket, day shirt, day short-sleeved shirt, evening shirt, evening tie shirt, t-shirt, etc. Everything except a tie and some socks it seems. Most importantly for the average businessman, everything matches with everything else. It's basically impossible to screw up the colors. To be fair, it's hard not match an all black wardrobe but this might be more of a bonus for the Connecticut line, which is the same thing but in summer colors and for a 24 hour trip.
Lionel's review is overall positive but there is a slight discomfiture with the whole enterprise. He feels somewhat of a poseur looking like, "Mr. Matrix" as his staid coworkers call him. Still, the Manhattan Collection is a win for clueless execs: what is better than not putting any effort towards looking like an urban hipster? Why not let the people at Puma do all the hard work? Doesn't a good manager always know how to delegate? But not everything can be done by others so Puma even includes folding instructions on how to fit all everything into the suitcase. I have to admit that I'm going to have to try improving my own folding technique using a folding card as the graphic suggests. The folding and packing instructions are definitely going to be used the next time I have to pack for a trip.
At $4000, this product is definitely for the upwardly mobile but maybe that's a blessing in disguise. At least, the airports of the world won't be covered with wannabes wearing Puma identasuits.