Southwest's old airplane seats become new fashion accessories

Southwest Airlines is a leader on airport runways, but now the popular low-cost carrier is inspiring some high-flying fashion accessories.

Looptworks, a Portland, Ore., brand that creates products from upcycled materials, has teamed with Southwest for the Luv Seat Collection, a limited-edition trio of bags made from old airplane cabin seats.

The available pieces include a weekender duffle bag, tote and backpack ranging in price from $150 to $250. The bags are made of water-resistant leather with a pebble texture and each is hand-numbered. Looptworks said there is a waiting list for the products, up to seven weeks for some items.

The collection emerged from Southwest's redesign of their cabins last year, which included replacing 80,000 leather seats with lighter-weight materials.

In addition to the airline partnership, Looptworks is working with Garten Services, a non-profit that trains and employs adults with disabilities, to deconstruct and clean the seats before turning them in bags.

Find the collection at looptworks.com/LUV/