Editorial

by Delphine de Malherbe

Away. Away.
The first issue of ICONOfly is launched. A magazine devoted to tales of art and luxury and the sensual attraction of the accessory. This premier issue is dedicated to the most desirable necessity for all globetrotters: the traveller’s bag. African, European, in crocodile or hide, waxed or with the patina of wear and age, the traveller’s bag is symbolic, mysterious and ravishing. A work of art or a craftwork, a utilitarian object or a prized accessory ; you find it on the arm of distant kings, suffering pilgrims, wealthy businessmen, aspiring actresses and, indeed, all world travellers and ‘citoyens du monde’. It has become a true phenomenon of the age, a standard bearer for the top fashion marques who use it to wage a polite war against each other. It is a symbol of profound intimacy, accompanying us on our remotest expeditions, as a link between the real and the spiritual, between us and the world, between fashion and art.

Because it is important that we pack our bag as carefully as we pursue pleasure in our lives, and similarly do not spread our true desires absent-mindedly, the content in this issue devoted to the traveller’s bag has been chosen with great care. ICONOfly, will divulge its deepest secrets, providing real content and knowledge. As a source of inspiration, the original works, ideas and talents of great artists have been commissioned in the service of ICONOfly to think again about the traveller's bag. They have used it to imagine literature, photography, gastronomy, music, perfumes, cartoons and artist's drawings. In the process they have allowed us to share the excitement of their sensations and intimate conversations. With their contribution, ICONOfly becomes a fashionable collectors item, unique in its field.

To approach the history of the traveller’s bag is no trivial thing. It is something that has changed men's lives. It echoes the journey of the first traveller, who realised that to take one bag on a voyage was to take your home with you. A revolutionary concept. Your destiny would never be the same. The bag, was foremost the attribute of a man and not of a woman and it became one’s essential companion. But as we know, a successful voyage is an encounter with oneself as well as the place visited. When art combines with luxury, the bag is the result of their union. In the name of the traveller’s bag, please allow us to carry you away.