Tumi to Co-Design Limited Edition Backpack with Artist Anish Kapoor

August 28, 2006 - This fall, Tumi will present a limited edition backpack co-designed with internationally renowned artist Anish Kapoor to benefit Médecins Sans Frontières /Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The launch of this bag coincides with Tumi's sponsorship of Kapoor's sculpture, Sky Mirror at Rockefeller Center this fall. The exhibition of Sky Mirror is organized by the Public Art Fund and hosted by Tishman Speyer. Tumi will produce 500 of the limited edition backpacks and donate 100% of the $695 retail price to MSF, an independent, international humanitarian aid organization that provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in more than 70 countries around the world.

Combining Tumi's innovative design and Kapoor's artistic vision, the Anish Kapoor backpack is a modern, highly functional interpretation of the classic doctor's bag. This design was inspired by the needs of humanitarian workers who live and work in difficult environments around the world, and created for those that want to help. Perfect for today's, multi-tasking lifestyles, the backpack offers essential and innovative features including:

• A solar panel for charging your phone, PDA and other tech items
  
• A TUMI Electric Adaptor
  
• A removable, padded laptop sleeve
  
• Compartments and pockets that are removable
  
• Interior and exterior accessories pockets for essentials such as a flashlight, travel documents, camera and water bottle.
  

These features are all part of an original design, created with Anish Kapoor, which reflects the artist's dedication to unique materials and minimal forms. The end result is a sophisticated, red-on- black FXT ballistic nylon backpack that features an Anish Kapoor Imprimatur and is an individually numbered limited edition.

"As an international brand, it is an honor and a privilege to create this exciting bag that will assist the efforts of this wonderful organization" says Laurence Franklin, CEO of Tumi. "The Anish Kapoor backpack provides Tumi collectors with a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a special, limited edition design while contributing to one of the most important and worthy humanitarian causes in the world today."

Anish Kapoor is one of the foremost international artists of our time. In the US, he is well-known for his 125-ton sculpture, Cloud Gate, which is on permanent display in Chicago's Millennium Park. Sky Mirror, which will be on view at Rockefeller Center from September 19th through October 27th is a breathtaking, 35 foot diameter, 23 ton concave mirror made of polished stainless steel that stands nearly three stories tall. The sculpture is freestanding with polished surfaces that are seamless and uninterrupted. From its position in the Channel Gardens at Rockefeller Center, Sky Mirror will offer a dazzling experience of light and architecture, presenting viewers with a vivid inversion of the skyline surrounding them.

For more information on Tumi visit www.tumi.com.

SOURCE Tumi