Started by three friends in 2014, Bennett Winch is a brand built on the ethos of good design as the answer to the pain points of travel. Its first bag was sketched on a napkin in a London bar in the search for a product that would bring time-honoured British manufacturing skills to bear on something that is designed to – first and foremost – work.
The result was the Weekender, which remains the cornerstone of the Bennett Winch collection. This a great travel bag not just because of the handsome styling and the use of full-grain vegetable-tanned leather and waterproof cotton canvas, nor because of the military-grade cotton webbing shoulder strap but because of its engineering.
Inside is a padded sleeve to hold and protect your laptop; there are two zip-up pockets, one on the outside, the other inside. And – most inventive – at each end, there is a compartment with a waterproof lining, perfect for shoes or gym kit and the like. It is the ability to address the practical needs of a traveller that distinguishes Bennett Winch, which now makes a host of different products and has a store on Savile Row, London.
The brand’s Suit Carrier Holdall is an ingenious idea – roll a suit carrier around a bag and fix it in place with magnets and Tuscan leather. The result? A modular piece of luggage you can carry in one hand. It’s so smart that in No Time to Die James Bond’s tux was housed in one. Now there is the Trifold, a carrier that can accommodate three suits as well as an iPad and other essentials in a pocket. In waterproof lightweight nylon, this features a lining in cotton and a design that has “open” sides (which help avoid strong creases).
Held together by hidden magnets and leather straps, and equipped with the same military-grade shoulder strap as the Weekender, the Trifold is a formidable travel companion for those who need to transport tailoring around the world and have it arrive in good shape.
£750 in black, olive and navy; bennettwinch.com
Peter Howarth has been the style director of British GQ and the editor of Arena, British Esquire and Man About Town. He is the co-founder and CEO of London creative agency SHOW and editorial director of Secret Trips
