WORDS
Peter Howarth
When is a holdall not a holdall? When it’s a suit carrier. OK, as riddles go it’s not great, but anyone who’s travelled knows minimising the luggage-to-hands ratio is the key to a happy journey.
So, enter the Bennett Winch S.C Holdall (that’s Suit Carrier Holdall), a piece of childishly logical engineering that sees a suit bag wrap around a holdall and attach to it by magnets and straps. It was designed by Bennett Winch back in 2017, in canvas. You can also get it in leather.

It became the brand’s most written- and talked-about design, not least because it bagged (pun intended) a role in the last Bond film, No Time to Die. And there is something pleasingly 007 about the idea, as if Q had applied himself to solving the conundrum of how Bond could best transport his famous tuxedo while keeping one hand free to reach for his Walther PPK.
I meet Bennett Winch in the very Bond-like setting of a large, beautifully appointed apartment overlooking Florence’s Piazza della Signoria. The three founders of this British luggage company are here during the bi-annual Pitti Uomo fashion event to show their wares to the world’s press and store buyers. But unlike those brands that set up stalls in the official site, team Bennett Winch have been coming to this spectacular flat for the past few years.

The determination to do things differently lies at the heart of Bennett Winch. After a conversation about how even the best-dressed men seemed to fall down when it comes to transporting their gym clothes, three friends set about designing the perfect travel bag. The Weekender – now available in waterproof and bonded British cotton canvas in olive, black, sand, navy and chocolate, and in leather, in black and brown – is still one of its best-sellers, but has been joined by the S.C Holdall, and also a backpack, duffle bag, briefcase, laptop folio and wash bag.
A surprise hit has been the leather watch “roll” the company launched with Revolution Magazine, taking input from its founder and owner Wei Koh. Since the founders started having kids, they’ve also developed a range of utility cargo bags that allow them – and their customers – to pack all manner of paraphernalia into big carriers that can then be stuffed into the back of a car.

Made in the UK, using British canvas and Italian leather, Bennett Winch understands that, for most men, there is a sweet spot when it comes to bags and luggage where style and function intersect. It is no surprise that all the products are continually tested by the founders – one carries his backpack while riding his motorcycle, another uses his weekender for surfing trips – and there is a feeling about the whole enterprise that speaks of a brand making things because it sees a need for them, and not just because of a business opportunity. Perhaps that’s why Bennett Winch smells authentic. Even when the piece in question is in odourless canvas.