It’s a tricky business, being Madonna.
With her latest boyfriend plus adopted twins, two other adopted children and a 23-year-old daughter, it added up to a lot of luggage following her through Heathrow this week.
The Queen of Pop needed two full trolleys as she and her brood headed off to the Maldives — but she’s not the only celebrity to spurn the notion of packing light, nor the only one whose designer luggage costs as much as a family holiday. ALISON BOSHOFF reveals the celebrity top trunks…
From material girl to £10k bag lady
Madonna is not known for packing light
Madonna
Number of bags: 26, on two trolleys — for seven people.
Madonna was flying into London from New York, it seems to pick up son Rocco, 19. But he preferred to stay with his father Guy Ritchie.
She is now in the Maldives without him but with adopted Malawian twins Stella and Estere, adopted daughter Mercy, adopted son David, daughter Lourdes and her own latest boyfriend, Ahlamalik Williams, 25.
Cost of luggage: Over £10,000. The two Louis Vuitton garment cases cost £1,630 each and the LV duffle bag is £1,540.
A North Face duffle bag is £155, there are at least three £530 Rimowa check-in cases, a £590 Brics suitcase, a £525 Samsonite case and a £300 Away bag.
Jet-setting lifestyle: Madonna, 61, is based chiefly in New York.
She is in the middle of an 86-date tour that is moving from the U.S. to Lisbon, London and Paris. She also has a home in LA.
Madonna was seen with 26 bags on two trolleys for seven people when she jetted to London from New York
It’s Miss Money-Penny!
Rod Stewart and Penny Lancaster
Number of bags: Ten bags for Rod and Penny, on one of many trips from their house in Los Angeles to their home in Essex.
Cost of luggage: £6,500. Three are by Louis Vuitton — one ‘keepall’ costing £1,350 and two soft duffles at £1,960 each.
There were ten bags for Rod and Penny, on one of many trips from their house in Los Angeles to their home in Essex
They also have two £635 Brics cases and a £155 Kipling bag.
Jet-setting lifestyle: Penny, 48, and Rod, 74, live in Essex with their two sons Alastair and Aiden.
They also spend time at the family’s home in Los Angeles and Rod, a father of eight, has a residency in Las Vegas.
Purple reigns for Liz
Liz Hurley
Number of bags: Three bags for Liz, 54.
Not only does the model and actress refuse to travel light, she also matches her accessories to her royal purple suitcases.
Liz Hurley travels as an ambassador for Estee Lauder’s breast cancer charity
Cost of luggage: Two Rimowa cases costing a total of £1,130, plus a Louis Vuitton case at £2,240.
Jet-setting lifestyle: Liz travels as an ambassador for Estee Lauder’s breast cancer charity and on business for her own swimwear company.
She also uses pictures of herself in bikinis on her Instagram account to promote the firm.
Keeping up with Kim
Kim Kardashian
Number of bags: Twelve big suitcases for Kim, the reality TV star.
To be fair, though, she was en route to her wedding in Italy to Kanye West.
Cost of luggage: About £4,000.
Kim’s collection included a Rimowa trunk-plus at £820, a £1,070 check-in Rimowa case, six £200 Samsonite cases and two Samsonite cabin bags, £289 each
Kim’s collection included a Rimowa trunk-plus at £820, a £1,070 check-in Rimowa case, six £200 Samsonite cases and two Samsonite cabin bags, £289 each.
Jet-setting lifestyle: Kim, 39, travels less than she used to after being robbed at gunpoint in Paris in 2016.
Now a mum of four, she mostly stays in Hollywood and lets the world come to her. Mexico is a favoured holiday destination.
Lily’s seeing red
Lily Allen
Number of bags: Three big suitcases for solo travelling pop star Lily Allen, 34, pictured in November on her way to America to visit her new boyfriend, actor David Harbour.
When not holding forth as a climate change campaigner, Lily Allen loves a holiday — Ibiza, the Maldives, St Barts
Cost of luggage: All three are made by Rimowa and cost a total of £1,640.
Jet-setting lifestyle: When not holding forth as a climate change campaigner, Lily loves a holiday — Ibiza, the Maldives, St Barts. And with a transatlantic romance on the boil, she will be packing her bags more than ever.
That’s a lot of bikinis!
Coleen Rooney
Number of bags: 11 cases for Coleen and her five boys: Kai, Kit, Klay, Cass — and husband Wayne.
Cost of luggage: The Samsonite Cosmolite Spinners cost £429 each, totalling £4,719.
Jet-setting lifestyle: WAG Coleen, 33, loves a holiday and before Wayne moved to Washington, the family would take up to 11 breaks a year.
In 12 years of marriage they have spent more than £2 million on holidays — and Coleen has over 100 bikinis
In 12 years of marriage they have spent more than £2 million on holidays — and Coleen has over 100 bikinis.
They barely holidayed during their American period, but this is expected to change now they are back in the UK.
Buckling up with runway royalty
Kate Moss
Number of bags: Three. At first glace, a modest haul for a supermodel.
Cost of luggage: Over £7,000. Although the cases from the Centenary Collection look old-school, this classic heritage brand, also favoured by the Queen, doesn’t come cheap.
Kate’s Globe Trotter suitcases cost around £2,000 each — the extra-deep option with wheels is a cool £2,915.
Kate’s Globe Trotter suitcases cost around £2,000 each — the extra-deep option with wheels is a cool £2,915
Those with even deeper pockets may be interested in the company’s bespoke range.
Jet-setting lifestyle: Although her catwalk days are behind her, Kate, 45, remains a frequent flyer (but not with easyJet, since she was escorted off a flight in 2015 for disruptive behaviour).
Bags of Italian glamour
Donatella Versace
Number of bags: Seven, plus four handbags — and bags of attitude in this image of Donatella, posted on social media in 2018.
Cost of luggage: £7,000 plus a further £5,000 for the handbags. Donatella, chief creative officer of fashion label Versace, only uses light, robust Rimowa aluminium suitcases.
Donatella, chief creative officer of fashion label Versace, only uses light, robust Rimowa aluminium suitcases
The German luggage company was snapped up by luxury conglomerate LVMH in 2017.
Jet-setting lifestyle: Donatella, 64, has a house in Milan and a house at Lake Maggiore.
She circles the globe attending fashion shows and supervising shoots, but also loves holidaying.
She said: ‘Every summer I try to pick a new destination. I normally never go to the same place because, considering my personality, I would soon get bored. In general, I like to go to sea destinations because I love to lie in the sun and I find them more relaxing.’
Excess all areas
Karlie Kloss
Number of bags: Seven. Model Karlie clearly doesn’t struggle to pay the excess baggage fees.
Cost of luggage: £2,980. The 27-year-old has selected Away luggage — the brand Meghan Markle gave to all those who attended her baby shower in New York.
Model Karlie Kloss clearly doesn’t struggle to pay the excess baggage fees with her seven suitcases
Jet-setting lifestyle: Karlie lives in New York with husband Joshua Kushner, whose brother is married to Ivanka Trump.
Their jet-setting group includes pop star Katy Perry, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and Harry and Meghan.
Picture research: Claire Cisotti