Émigré cases and clothes are designed for you to arrive in style

When you travel regularly, you learn the importance of a good bag or suitcase. They need to be lightweight, sturdy, big enough to fit in everything you need, but small enough to fit either under a seat or in an overhead compartment.

Aside from choosing the best carry-on luggage, the clothes you wear while travelling and the ones you take with you are just as important. This is especially true if you travel for work, where you need to make an impression on arrival.

That’s why when I discovered a company called Émigré, I was immediately interested. Its high-end travel collection includes not only bags and luggage but also a range of apparel, from jackets and blazers to shirts, polos and even sports kits for busy executives.

This means, with a single significant purchase, you can not only pick out your travel bags but also everything you need to put in them for a business trip or a few nights away. What’s more, these pieces of clothing are designed to be water and wrinkle-resistant, meaning they are good to go as soon as you unpack them.

As a regular traveller myself, I was keen to try out the Émigré collection to see if it really stands up to the test on a few of my longer trips. First, using it as my only luggage for my journey to CES in Las Vegas, and then complete with clothing when heading to MWC in Barcelona.

Not only were these trips over four to six nights, but I was travelling with just cabin luggage and needed to dress for business on arrival. It's a tough ask for any luggage, and for the clothes inside it.

The pick of the range

For luggage, I chose the Hardcase Carry-On, a cabin-sized wheelie case with a hard shell and a front zipped pocket, priced at £525 / $690. This is priced similarly to some top cases, like the Carl Friedrik Carry-on X, which has been my go-to for a while, and a little more than the July Carry-On Pro, which swallows just about anything you want to take with you.

To pair with the carry-on, I opted for the Boston Bag priced £390 / $495, a lightweight, durable business travel bag that combines laptop and work material storage with a larger space for clothing or accessories. I tend to travel with a tripod, headphones and camera, so this would be perfect for all of those bits that I normally stuff in a rucksack.

While Émigré does offer some great-looking blazers, it’s a bit more formal than I like to travel, so I opted for the Cotton Oxford Shirt (£77 / $98) and Commuter Chinos (£180 / $230). Then, for some exercise on arrival, I picked out the Sports Kit (£334 / $360) that includes a Henley t-shirt and shorts as well as a windbreaker jacket. This 3-in-1 kit all packs together into the windbreaker’s pocket, for easy carrying too.

The entire set came to just over £1500, which is a fair amount to spend on two outfits and two cases, so is it worth it for the busy executive traveller?

Packing to go

The carry-on case has a polycarbonate shell, which, though hard, does have some room for give. It also uses zips to seal rather than clasps, which tend to give you a bit of extra leeway when overpacking. The case is a fairly standard size at 55 x 35.6 x 25.5 cm, but the capacity is listed as just 32 litres, which is slightly smaller than most.

The top section handily has zipped netting to seal it, while the bottom section has another netted cover with compression straps in the top corners. This did help squeeze my clothes down, but seemed less effective compared to the traditional horizontal straps.

The case did pretty well at holding even six days' worth of clothes, pretty much matching my other cases. However, at that point, the front section becomes unusable. If you’re travelling for just one or two nights, it’s more than enough.

The case feels well-made and looks smart, but doesn’t look as fancy as other carry-ons. Perhaps, though, understated is the aim of the game here.

The Boston bag is extremely accommodating when it comes to space. This has a 21-litre capacity and measures 45 x 30 x 16 cm, weighing just 1.63kg. It has two soft sleeves for your laptop and can easily fit larger 16-inch models.

There are tons of zipped sections and pockets available, including two large pockets in the main section and four in the secondary area. There’s even a smaller outer zipped section at the front and a large zipped outer pocket at the back, also big enough to slide a laptop or paperwork in.

The only downside to all this space is that the bag can get pretty heavy, and the handles and strap aren’t really sufficient for that. The carry handles join together with a popper, but are just hardened material without any soft grip. The body strap has a small amount of padding but feels cheap and has quite lightweight clips attaching it to the bag.

Carrying this bag fully laden over your shoulder soon gets painful, so it’s best placed on top of the carry-on case. Luckily, here it does have a band to slot the case handle through. You can also purchase backpack straps for it, to turn this into a rucksack if you need.

Dressed for first class

I was excited to see how the clothes would hold up to a long day of travelling, so I tested them on a trip to Europe. This ended up being around eight hours from door to door, and on arrival, I still felt fresh and looked relatively uncreased.

The Oxford shirt is made from nice, thick cotton and fits well. Made in Portugal, it’s 97% organic cotton and 3% elastane blend to give it a little stretch. The chinos are slim-fitting but flattering, with a lightweight Italian twill cotton and 2% elastane, to also give them a little stretch. They also feature elastic at the back cuff to pull them in at the ankle and zipped side pockets to keep everything safe and secure from falling out when you’re sitting.

The anti-wrinkle finish gives them a slight starched feel, but also the impression that you could easily wipe off any small spills from your plane food. Despite being a little snug, I was surprised how comfortable they were to wear, especially when travelling, and they look so much smarter than jeans. They would definitely be my choice for any future flights.

Of all the clothing, though, the sports kit was probably my favourite. I always try to pack my running shoes and shorts when I travel, but it’s probably where I look least coordinated outfit-wise – usually matched with any old t-shirt. The Émigré sports kit features a poly-cotton mix Henley top, mine in dark blue, with nylon and spandex mix on the matching shorts, with a compression liner under-shorts, complete with a pocket for your phone.

As I was running outdoors in March, I was pleased with the addition of the windbreaker jacket. This lightweight training jacket also has a nylon-spandex mix and is both stretchy and water-resistant, to keep the wind and rain off you. Finished in dark blue, it has reflective strips allowing you to be seen in the dark, and there’s even a hood if things get serious.

The whole sports kit pairs together perfectly, making you look stylish while working out – perfect for being spotted in the gym by colleagues or for a team run, if you’re into such things. Though I prefer to run alone, a colleague did spot me from the hotel window, so I definitely styled it out.

A return on investment?

There’s a certain uniformity to the Émigré range that makes it appealing. It’s smart, classy, but very understated. This is quality at designer prices, without the big-name labels. You could certainly pay less and still get high-quality products, but getting a set that not only matches but is designed for travel would be tricky.

If you travel regularly, getting the right luggage and clothing is priceless, and Émigré certainly delivers a great solution. You can buy everything you need here for your business trip or weekend away, though unless your travel is also first class, it may cost you more than your flight.