Love Away Luggage? You’ll Want To Shop Its New Softside Suitcases

When it comes to our ride-or-ride essentials for travel, Away luggage will always make it to the top of our desert island packing list. The brand’s lineup of durable luggage, not only withstands the roughest of journeys, they look mighty good while doing it, too. We’re always enamored with its trendy collabs — its recent Island Pink collection was giving serious Barbie vibes — but the brand’s latest launch sees it revisiting a classic category that many other travel brands have overlooked: softside luggage.

Softside luggage can get a bad rap because of its old-fashioned design and limited color variety. Here’s why we are welcoming this news with open arms (and passports): We often default to a softside suitcase whenever our travels call for more-generous packing space, given how most softside luggage unzips at the top and therefore has much more vertical depth. And yet, most soft shell luggage on the market is, simply put, boring to look at. The consumer demand for better (and more aesthetic) softside luggage is something that has been picked up by the brand. According to a 2022 Retail Research report, softside luggage dominates 75% of the global luggage market.

So, Away is doing what it has always done best — bringing its signature design flair and hardy construction into a lineup of lightweight and flexible nylon suitcases. To celebrate the launch, the brand has tapped a number of actors, creatives, and tastemakers to front the campaign, including Alan Ruck, Jenny Walton, Aminatou Sow, and Megan Stalter.

Read on for the lowdown on this new luggage drop, which will surely win you lots of compliments while breezing through the boarding gate.

The softside collection is available in four sizes: Carry-On, Bigger Carry-On, Medium, and Large, with four colorways for each size (black, blue, clay pink, and gray). The smallest 22-inch Softside Carry-On has enough room for up to five days of essentials, while the Softside Large, at just under 29 inches tall, is perfect for a two-week trip.

In classic Away fashion, thoughtful details are plentiful: Each suitcase contains two concealed exterior pockets that can hold everything from passports to laptops. (Friendly reminder not to pack either in your checked luggage.) The bags are constructed in a durable nylon material that can handle the roughest of baggage handling. Most softside suitcases on the market are not water-resistant, but Away’s softside bags are treated with a water-repellent coating, so there are zero worries about being caught in a downpour when you’re walking from the train to your hotel.

Another impressive feature is the internal mesh divider, which is not commonly included with softside suitcases. This panel not only helps with compressing the contents of your luggage, it provides extra room to store essentials like underwear and socks. If you’re still running out of room, each bag can be expanded an additional 1.75 inches, and the wheels are fitted with stabilizers so they don’t fall over when front loaded with your shopping haul.