Delta Days
L.A. to Aspen, 1995
In 1990, having secured a showcase for my bags in both Bergdoff Goodman in New York and Gumps in San Francisco, I decided to dive deeper into the U.S. market. After all, what did I have to lose?
Well, money, for one thing. Lots and lots of money. America's a big place, and getting my small, emerging brand known in all the right places wasn't going to be cheap. I would have to draw up a shortlist of potential outlets, and visit them one by one - getting them to believe in me as well as my bags.
Thank goodness, then, for Delta Airlines and its wondrous 30-day travel pass. For a mere $499, I could criss-cross the country for a whole month, taking any flight at any time, albeit on a standby basis.
New York was to be my jumping off point. There I arrived with two of my suitcases, both packed like Russian dolls, a couple of smart suits and a copy of the Bible (otherwise known as the Delta timetable).
With a route plotted from the East to the West coast, I homed in on all the upscale resort towns - from Martha’s Vineyard to Malibu, via Aspen, Scottsdale and many more in between. At each tiny airport, my first task was to try and find a room for the night for an equally tiny price.
Once settled, I would head out into the dozen or so streets to pick the place best suited to carry my bags. I would then retreat to a pay phone, call the store and arrange an appointment for that very day. If this wasn't possible, I’d offer to fly back specially (which, thanks to my Delta pass, I could easily do) and sign a deal.
Travelling to so many places across such vast distances required a flight every day, sometimes two. I had virtually memorised my inch-thick timetable, and knew exactly which connections I needed to make to stay on track. Flying standby, however, meant that things didn't always go smoothly.
When I missed my connection to Jackson's Hole in Colorado, for example, my luggage decided to go on without me. .. to somewhere else. Thus, I arrived in a linen suit that was perfect for a tropical L.A. but not for the sub-zero conditions that greeted me.
These little adventures all added up to make one big one. And turned what could have been a gruelling business trip into a genuine life experience.
