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"  Photo: Patrick McMullan Anna Sui\u2014a designer who is oft characterized by her psychedelic prints, technicolor palette, and zealous passion for rock &amp;#039;n&amp;#039; roll\u2014has again lent her personal flair to Tumi for a collection of travel and lifestyle accessories. The Spring 2013 designs feature a familiar floral motif and range from larger carry-on bags to smaller styles such as shoe bags and smart device cases. To celebrate her second foray into the travel world, Sui and Tumi hosted a posh event last night at the Crosby Street Hotel, where the funky decor made the vibrant collection on display look right at home. A short film about her journey as a designer, Case Studies: Anna Sui, was screened. It was followed by a colorful discussion between Sui and Paper&amp;#039;s Mickey Boardman, during which the designer unveiled her travel essentials\u2014music, magazines, and books (she&amp;#039;s currently toting around the Led Zeppelin biography When Giants Walked the Earth) and doled out sage pieces of packing advice (bring an extra sweater in your carry-on and streamline packing by sticking to one color). Considering it&amp;#039;s the calm before the fashion week storm, we took the opportunity to ask Sui if she would divulge any information about her upcoming Fall 2013 collection. &amp;quot;It will be really colorful&amp;quot; she revealed exclusively to ELLE.com. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s going to be another French-inspired collection. That&amp;#039;s about all I&amp;#039;m going to say.&amp;quot; Understandably a little mum about the details of her highly-anticipated collection and show, Sui then opened up to us about the inspiration behind the collaboration, her list of far-flung destinations, and the romance of travel. ELLE: What was the inspiration behind your latest collaboration with Tumi? Anna Sui: We had done the signature black and purple butterfly and we thought, &amp;quot;Well, what can we do next?&amp;quot; We wanted to address a bigger audience, and I know how much people like my floral prints. So, we went through my archives and we came up with this watercolor print that was used in two dresses from the Spring 2009 runway. The collection had been inspired by Alexander Girard, and I just love his textiles, color palette, and design aesthetic. We took that print and colored it in with a very signature pale lavender with purple flowers. ELLE: When designing for travel, what are the most important aspects to consider? AS: Functionality, of course\u2014and Tumi, they&amp;#039;re the experts. There is no better bag made than the Tumi bag. It&amp;#039;s sturdy, comfortable, and stays intact. But, I like the fact that they wanted to embrace the frivolity and fun of my design aesthetic, and mix it together.  ELLE:Do you believe there is a certain romance to the art of travel? AS: Yes, I mean let&amp;#039;s face it: We had to bring back a little glamour to travel because that&amp;#039;s how it used to be. In the old movies, you thought that was how travel should be. But with what&amp;#039;s happened, and the harshness of security, this is something that can bring back that touch of glamour. ELLE: What is your favorite form of transportation? AS: I don&amp;#039;t know, I fly so much. I guess that&amp;#039;s the fastest way. Though, I did take a train when I went to Australia\u2014an old-fashioned train\u2014and that was glamorous. It had the wooden railway cars, dining compartments, and pull-down beds. That was beautiful. ELLE: What places in the world are you planning to travel to next? AS: I usually take a vacation with my nieces and nephews. We try to go to really exotic places. We&amp;#039;ve been to Egypt, India, and Russia. This Christmas, we were talking about maybe going on a safari. I&amp;#039;ve never been on one and going to the Outback in Australia was probably the most rustic I&amp;#039;ve been. ELLE: Which is more exciting, jetting off to a new place or coming back to New York after your journey? AS: Definitely on the way there, because you don&amp;#039;t know what to expect, and there&amp;#039;s all this anticipation. You&amp;#039;re like, &amp;quot;Is it going to be easy or is it going to be difficult?&amp;quot; On the way home, you know what you&amp;#039;re coming back to. The collaboration launches in stores today at the Anna Sui boutique in NYC and Tumi stores worldwide. You can also purchase the collection online at tumi.com. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/accessories/news/a22591/anna-sui-tumi-collaboration-interview/>