BRANDS & CULTURE Archives - Page 2 of 4

When Being an Artist
is Good for Business

Brands of all kinds know only too well that creating a successful product takes massive amounts of time and effort. Then they have to convince people to buy it. But what if brands could build products so remarkable they sold themselves, and because of this, others would clamor sell for them?

Art of the In-Between” at The Met Fifth Avenue, New York

Art of the In-Between” at The Met Fifth Avenue, New York, Exhibition Catalogue

Rei Kawakubo, founder of the unorthodox Japanese fashion brand, Comme des Garçons, has done nothing but that her entire career. For the past forty years, she’s invested unprecedented amounts of time and effort into designing the most extraordinary and unconventional collections the fashion industry has seen. However, as the current exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York (Met), Comme des Garçons: Art of the In-Between, has shown, it’s not only the fashion crowds that have been flocking to the Met’s architecturally-impressive gallery space, but enthusiasts of all kinds. It’s the first exhibition honouring a living designer the Met has ever done. What’s more, it’s featuring a visionary renowned for defying the most fundamental of conventions: “If we say, ‘these are clothes’, it’s all very usual, so we said ‘these are not clothes.’ It sounds like a Zen dialogue, but it is very simple,” says Kawakubo.

Naturally, Comme des Garçons is about more than clothing. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons the brand has captivated people across such varied demographics. One may argue it’s Kawakubo’s philosophy that sets the brand apart and attracts a spectrum of devotees. Or perhaps it’s her inherent need to keep challenging every assumption there is about clothing: “Is it strong or not? That’s the only question. I need to create something new, something unlike anything seen before. If a lot of people praise what I’ve made, it must have been just ordinary,” asserts Kawakubo.

Despite its edgy, artistic status, Comme des Garçons has become one of the most desirable brands for fashion retailers to carry. The brand is a draw for design-conscious locals and tourists alike; a worthwhile stop to check out Comme des Garçons’ greatest and latest. For a retailer, carrying Comme des Garçons is often seen as an honour that must be earned. That’s the power of a brand that has built products so exceptional, others consider it a privilege to sell them.

Now, imagine if more companies, not just fashion brands followed Kawakubo’s enterprising steps and developed products that were at least slightly ahead of the curve? For a number of brands, collaborating with cutting edge designers or artists would be an easy first step in challenging their own status quo, and ultimately capturing a creative edge the marketplace is eagerly waiting for.

The exhibition, Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garçons Art of the In-Between, runs at the Met until September 4, 2017. It features about 140 examples of Kawakubo’s womenswear for Comme des Garçons from 1980’s to present. It also includes one of Kawakubo’s dearest, her art collaboration with the American avant-garde dancer and choreographer Merce Cunningham, titled Scenario.

The Top 3
Art Collaboration Myths

Even though the marketplace is as saturated as ever and marketing budgets have been shrinking regularly, relatively few Canadian brands have taken advantage of the bountiful opportunities art collaborations provide, despite their success globally. At Arts & Labour, we’ve been talking to brand managers and have uncovered a few obstacles that seem to come up time and again when making the decision whether or not to collaborate with an artist on their product. What we’ve discovered is not that Canadian brands have a different set of concerns than international brands who are more willing to embrace the approach – instead, we found their top concerns were often based on lack of exposure to art collaborations and even more often, out and out myths. Naturally, we’d to take the opportunity to discuss those. Here are the top three.

Frank Gehry’s Crosscheck series of Bentwood furniture for Knoll

Myth No. 1: Art collaborations are costly.
Just as Frank Gehry, the celebrated Canadian architect once said, “You can do great architecture for the same cost as crappy buildings,” collaborating with an artist is not about having deep pockets, it’s about having vision.

To illustrate Gehry’s theory, consider that manufacturing a limited-edition run of art-inspired watering cans designed by a buzz-worthy artist will most likely cost the same as manufacturing a series of conventional watering cans. But as you can imagine, the social media leverage and resulting sales would be far from similar.

Keeping costs manageable comes down to conceiving the right art collaboration idea to achieve the most beneficial effect within brand’s given budget and requirements. Just as Mr. Gehry advises working with the right architect for a building, we’d recommend working with the right creative director for an art collaboration. In both cases, you’re hiring a creative professional who is capable of guiding one through the complexities of the process from start to finish effectively, successfully and fiscally responsibly.

Myth No. 2: Art collaborations are gamble.
For many brands who are accustomed to using marketing to stimulate sales, collaborating with an artist seems too filled with unknowns to provide a reliable return on investment.

What they may not realize is that developing an effective art collaboration, like all good business, is based on a solid strategy that’s followed through with great ideas and strong execution. Using ourselves as an example, Arts & Labour looks to art collaboration successes worldwide as a guide and employs proven techniques to achieve a great result; we use what we call “modules” to break down the process and help guide brand managers and product designers. While our tactical modules help uncover a brand’s needs and wants, our creative modules help define a collaborative strategy to inject a product with the most inherent newsworthiness and appeal. With the right process, creativity does not have to equate to risk.

Myth No. 3: Art collaborations are for luxury brands only.
Perhaps it’s because the most celebrated and memorable art collaborations of late have come from luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Comme des Garcons, but many brands assume the approach is too avant-garde for them, or even “out of their league.”

illy art cup collection x Gillo Dorfless

Nonsense. Developing an art collaboration is an essential way for brands of all kinds to ensure consumers see their product with fresh eyes. For instance, Illy, the Italian coffee company, uses art collaboration as a way to help them de-commodify their offering. Whether it’s a coffee cup, a can of beans or a trade booth, Illy is a brand that takes full advantage of collaborating with artists as a way to stay relevant, top of mind and most of all, inspiring.

As Rachel Somers Miles wrote in her Huffington Post article called “Collaboration Validation,” “Focusing on culture, by developing brand-artist collaborations, is a way of building authentic relationships with audiences that may be hard to connect with. Brands need to work with artists, whose relationships with consumers come from consumers’ genuine excitement.” Indeed.

We wish you plenty of courage to crush each obstacle that stands between your brand and your next art-fusion collaboration.

The New Currency: Creative Vision

Last fall, the BMW Group published the fourth edition of its Independent Collectors’ Art Guide. Like many luxury brands, the German carmaker has been busy developing a variety of partnerships with the arts in their ambition to consistently remain culturally and socially relevant. It’s a true balancing act, nurturing that delicate relationship between commercial and creative vision. Getting involved in art collaborations and art partnerships with emerging and established contemporary artists or institutions has become quite a skilled endeavor among the world’s most prestigious brands. But why, we wonder, do only luxury brands seem to take advantage of the power of art for its instant injection of relevance, interest and “nowness”?

The BMW Art Guide is a collaborative publication between the German luxury carmaker and Independent Collectors of contemporary art, presenting 256 private yet publicly accessible art collections, large and small, famous and unknown, across 180 cities and 43 countries. It started in 2012 to simply gather and enlist privately owned contemporary art collections with public access around the world. The result was a well-designed, pocked-sized publication that has, according to the BMW Group, become the go-to-guide to discover new art collections in the most diverse settings on the planet. And so, the concept of “art experience collecting” was born.

BMW’s first foray into the arts dates back to 1975 when the French auctioneer and racecar driver Hervé Poulain commissioned the American artist (and personal friend), Alexander Calder, to paint his racecar. The result was to become the very first BMW Art Car. Since then, a number of well-known artists like Frank Stella, Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons have joined the ranks of the BMW Art Cars Project’s featured artists. BMW Art Cars initially only appeared at car races, without any public participation, so to speak. Only later, as the public’s interest in contemporary art and artists grew, the art collaborations started to take a different shape; they soon began serving as travelling advertisements, reinforcing BMW’s elevated image and borrowing the cache of the many rock-star artists they collaborated with.

Nowadays, it’s a known fact that the tighter brands are able to align their commercial and creative visions, the more original and desirable they become. Yet, at Arts & Labour we can’t stop asking two simple questions. First, why aren’t more brands, high-end or not, taking advantage of the art collaborative model that has proven time and time again to work for the BMW Group and a handful of other savvy brands so effectively and for so long?

Second, why do brands who do not have creative visionaries the caliber of Herve Poulain in-house, not make a point of outsourcing the creative vision they so desperately need to succeed? Why are they not aligning their marketing and product development teams to bring their creative and commercial visions together to reach their full capacities?

The BMW Art Guide can be purchased directly via Amazon or as an Ebook download.

The Principles of Staying Relevant

How many brands today can claim they’re striving for better rather than newer? Vitsoe, a British furniture manufacturer founded by Niels Vitsoe in 1959 in Germany has been obsessed with nothing but being better for the past 57 years.

As strange as it may sound, the brand was first and foremost created for Dieter Rams, a German furniture designer known for his pioneering solutions that helped transform his then employer, Braun, into a global consumer electronics brand. But ultimately, Vitsoe was born out of a collaborative spirit among a group of open-minded and imaginative professionals and friends. This was an era when design collaborations weren’t the movement they are today, but simply a pragmatic way of doing things. Vitsoe’s original founders, Niels Vitsoe and Otto Zapf, along with Braun’s founders (and Rams’ employers), Erwin and Artur Braun, unilaterally agreed that Dieter Rams’ secondary employment with Vitsoe would only benefit both brands. Dieter Rams went on to work for these two companies side-by-side, and as he likes to point out, “… only for these two companies.”

In addition to his seamless and irresistible product designs, Rams has been celebrated for his ten principles of good design. Our favourite at Arts & Labour is no. 10, “Good design is as little design as possible”, and no. 6, “Good design is honest.”

10 Principles for Good Design by Dieter Rams

Despite being prolific for Braun, Dieter Rams designed only three key products for Vitsoe. The most popular, the 606 Universal Shelving System, is a modular system that’s fully adaptable to every single surrounding. The design is not only movable and adjustable, but also tasteful. Some consumers even claim it’s “highly addictive.” Now part of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) collection, Dieter Rams has made numerous improvements and adjustments to the system since its early days, but always with integrity to its original design.

We are clearly lovers of good design at Arts & Labour; but why, you may wonder, are we devoting so much thought to Vitsoe? Like other established brands that want to remain in demand, Vitsoe too may need to start addressing the desires of more recent generations, namely Millennials and Post-Millennials. Unlike Baby Boomers and Generation X, who have been captivated by Vitsoe’s good design, Millennials seem to be neither familiar with nor interested in the brand’s affluent history or its design principles. In fact, Millennials appear to be attracted to values that signify cultural disruption and activism rather than design relevance exclusively.

In our opinion, Vitsoe may want start expanding its company’s vision beyond good design and start celebrating the role of good art. Wouldn’t it be delicious if this prompted a new set of principles that focus on the benefits collaboration between good art and design can bring to brands, artists and society at large?

May we humbly suggest a new principle? No.11, “When good design and good art collaborate, it has the power to change minds.” The ever-innovative Dieter Rams would no doubt approve.

For more on the genius of Dieter Rams, see this recent article by Fast Company.

Dale Chihuly, artist.
Dale Chihuly, brand.

Collaborations between brands and artists of all types have been popping up just about everywhere. They’ve clearly caught on—and proven their worth amidst flashy advertising campaigns and attention-seeking promotional events. Art collaborations, with their sense of authenticity and immediacy tend to sell quickly, while first-class collaborations with top artists and brands have been known to sell out instantly. Naturally, more and more savvy brands have climbed on board and are collaborating with savvy artists to develop irresistible products that cultivate a following of consumer brand ambassadors.

Dale Chihuly’s sculpture in Dallas Arboretum

On a parallel path with this burgeoning movement, some artists, rather than letting brands take charge of their talents, have been taking the matter into their own hands. Dale Chihuly, the American sculptor, renowned for his large scale blown glass installations, is one of them. Chihuly’s unique and fascinating sculptures have been internationally recognized since the early 1970’s. Included in more than 200 museum collections, his work is celebrated, often with his remarkable site-specific architectural installations being singled out for praise. His indoor works, no matter how ecstatic and complex, can often be overshadowed by his grand outdoor experiences. It’s in the open air where his glass comes fully alive, enveloped by light, whether it be through electricity or the natural sun’s blaze. As Chihuly likes to say, “The magic is the light.” We’d add that the more natural the light is, the more magical it becomes.

Mastering his distinct glass-blowing techniques while establishing his name as its own brand are the two things Chihuly has been remarkably good at. One of his key branding strategies has been to forge collaborations described as “Chihuly-inspired collaborative art events”. Whether informally with art schools where students are encouraged to create work inspired by Chihuly’s distinct design style, or with museums where reputable restaurants collaborate to create “Chihuly-inspired evenings” replete with colourful culinary dishes, the end result always compliments his work and seeks to engage with the greater public – both brand-enhancing efforts. Though unquestionably, Chihuly-inspired events serve more as social gatherings rather than revenue-generating endeavors.

Ultimately, all well-executed art collaborations result in increased publicity and greater revenues for the brands or organizations and artists involved. Chihuly’s are no different. Even if his approach to art collaboration is at its heart more communal than commercial, the end result is increased awareness and publicity, which is good for the bottom lines of all involved – the institution (be it a museum, school or restaurant), and of course the artist himself.

At Arts & Labour, we admire and appreciate the integrity and grass roots nature of Chihuly-inspired collaborative events. Unlike more overtly commercial art collaborations, his events are about forging long-lasting bonds rather than gaining instant results. And in the end, his steady and purposeful collaborative approach has a valuable branding lesson to teach: patience.

Dale Chihuly’s exhibition can be seen at the ROM in Toronto till January 8, 2017.

Two Brave Brands

As we all know, brands must live and breathe innovation to stay relevant. But the practice is not as much about marketability or promoting allure as one might think; it is in reality, more about fostering authenticity. For innovation to ring true to consumers, it must come from the core of the brand, rooted in a thoughtful and continuous process of genuine rebirth – or it risks feeling like a desperate gimmick. This process is anything but easy, and worth applauding when brands have the bravery to do it well. Today, we’ll highlight two brands that have shown their mettle in spades. Both are European and internationally celebrated; while one is much younger than the other, both are achieving innovation in ways that speak volumes artistically, socially, culturally and economically.

T-O-O-G-O-O-D: ART-MINDED DESIGN
Available at the busy Dover Street Market in London and in countries like France, Switzerland, Kuwait, Japan, China, Korea and Canada, the namesake-clothing brand of Faye Toogood is an ongoing project of the British artist and fashion designer. Her academic training in fine arts coupled with her hands-on experience in the magazine industry has been a major force behind both of her practices: art and fashion.

Collaborating with like-minded individuals and organizations, as well as participating in prestigious design festivals, Toogood has been integrating both of her disciplines quite seamlessly. Fusing her sculptural work with fashion, and applying a discriminating, multi-dimensional, artistic sensibility, she has been pushing the boundaries of her craft not only aesthetically, but also socially and politically. And her brief but sharp manifestos couldn’t be any clearer about Toogood’s moral convictions, in case anyone should wonder. At Arts & Labour, we enjoy the courageous and truly inspiring forward motion Faye Toogood’s work exemplifies.

CEASELESS COLLABORATIONS: IITTALA
Known for its everyday household objects, iittala, has been inspiring lovers of good design with its elegant functionality since the 19th century, and continues to do so today. It’s clear by their actions that iitalla’s enthusiasm is for making perfectly desirable objects more than it is for making marketplace noise.

Since its beginnings, the brand has focused its efforts on collaborating with an impressive array of visionary international designers and growing its reputation not only in Finland, but also across continents. Their most recent collaboration with the Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, notable for his innovative work with pleats, has culminated in a collection of high-quality ceramics, glass and home textiles titled Pause for Harmony. Iittala’s Scandinavian sensibilities united with Miyake’s expression of Japanese serenity went even further. The collaboration was launched with a series of art installations allowing consumers to experience the story behind the collaboration in a peaceful and harmonious way, making its mark quietly, yet deeply as iittala prefers.

Bravo to both brands. Your nerve and authenticity inspire us.

It’s Time to Reinvent the Trade Booth

As much as brands pour their energy into the things they sell, it’s a mistake to think that those products alone will make a trade show booth stand out, no matter how new or innovative those products are. If you’ve ever walked the dizzying miles of a trade show floor and experienced the visual exhaustion than sets in soon after the first or second aisle of product display after product display, you might agree that it’s time for a rethink.

Let’s put ourselves in an attendee’s shoes for a moment. What would one be more likely to notice – a booth that looks like yet another displaced product showroom, or a dynamic installation with a story to tell? A visually striking site installation with a narrative that demonstrates a brand’s environmental, cultural or social relevance, perhaps?

Brands traditionally think of trade shows as a way to promote their products to their industry. But if instead, we perceived trade shows as an opportunity to demonstrate a brand’s relevance to society, those brands would give people a more compelling reason to consider their products. Instead of just replicating a showroom, lets think of the trade booth as a “hook” and aim to reel guests in with a story that inspires.

Imagine if the famed Swedish brand Hästens left their stunning beds behind and instead collaborated with a designer on an art installation incorporating their iconic blue check. Or if Knoll collaborated with a sculptor to create an oversized mid-century modern Bertoia chair, large enough to walk under, Gulliver’s Travels style? Their booths would not only stand out, but also become something delightful to make noise about.

You may be thinking, “That sounds expensive,” or, “Only big brands can afford big booths with powerful installations.” But if you ask us, small is not the problem. Lack of imagination is the problem. The size of a booth does not have to dictate the size of our ideas, resourcefulness or creativity. Small brands have a tendency to – but absolutely shouldn’t – think small. Interesting ideas and self-assured vision have a way of standing out, despite square footage.

The American avant-garde composer John Cage once observed, “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” Yet, doing something unconventional to get noticed can be intimidating. In fact, brands (and the humans behind them) can be equally afraid to stand out as they are to get noticed. But if we let the fear of loosing existing customers govern us completely, we resign ourselves to the same-old, safe, cookie-cutter approach that is sure to exhaust all our tired eyes at the next trade show.

In our next post we’ll look at brands that have been courageous about taking on risks, have reaped their just rewards and are encouraging others to do the same.

hästens trade show booth

Knoll trade show booth

ROBERT THERRIEN’s monumental sculpture

Lee Broom LIGHTS exhibition display

Brunner group SEATING EXHIBITION display

The Spark of an Idea: A Story

The search for fresh design ideas often leads us to the most unexpected of places. And as most creative people know, the best ideas are usually hidden in either the most obvious or the least expected places.

On my recent visit to Italy, I spontaneously ventured to San Gimignano, a small hill town in Tuscany, located just south of Florence. While appreciating its medieval architecture, something I wasn’t expecting caught my eye—an off-duty ambulance team navigating through one of the streets of this delightful town. It was a group of Italian paramedics – but instead of typical drab uniforms, they were dressed in stylish ocean blue sweaters with fluorescent green stripes across the long sleeves, expertly matched with fluorescent green pants. It was an image fit for a cutting-edge fashion magazine, if only I’d had the guts and forethought to take it. On the other hand, even better than a photograph, it could also have been an idea for a future prêt a porter collection worthy of Prada or another high-end fashion brand. Or even better, in the popular world of brand collaborations, an collab idea for San Gimignano Hospital and let’s say, the revolutionary Japanese fashion house Undercover or the French fashion brand Vetements. Perhaps the collaboration could benefit a cause both the hospital and the fashion house share an affinity for. Sign me up, I say!

As my excursion through San Gimignano continued, I couldn’t help but keep my eye out for ambulance service teams. Next time around, I’d definitely be more than ready to use my camera and capture these stylishly uniformed paramedics. Regretfully, none of the ambulance teams I spotted after my first sighting were wearing ‘my uniforms’ of blue sweaters with fluorescent green stripes. As my anticipation kept growing, I accidentally found myself at the front door of San Gimignano Emergency Services. To my astonishment, a group of uniformed paramedics was sitting around, taking a likely well-deserved break. I cautiously walked in, with my camera in hand, ready to capture what I’d wished I’d captured on my first sighting: ‘my uniforms’. Alas, once again, none of the paramedics were wearing them. They were however, looking at me eagerly, curious to find out the reason for my visit.

Not speaking their language, I pointed to their uniforms and then at a few other uniforms piled up behind where they were sitting. I was hoping to find out whether they had the uniform I was looking for stored somewhere — one that I could photograph or maybe even purchase? Not surprisingly, my attempts to communicate this fairly complicated idea were fruitless. The paramedics looked at me and then at each other for what seemed embarrassingly like forever. Finally, one of them got up, eagerly indicating that he understood. Hallelujah!

He pointed at his two colleagues who were sitting beside him to get up and to pose for me. Oh no, I thought to myself! They think I want to take their photograph, being a tourist of strange fancies. Stunned and polite, I pointed my camera at them and snapped the picture. They laughed with a relieved expression of ‘mission accomplished’, while I walked out feeling mortified, but with a heartfelt photograph in my camera of two paramedics in the wrong uniforms.

The moral of the story? Always have your camera handy. And should you ever see a collection of hats, sneakers or dinnerware using a combination of ocean blue and fluorescent yellow stripes, you’ll know where the idea came from. Should you be touring Tuscany in the future, keep your eyes open for the paramedics in ocean blue uniforms. It may inspire something quite different in you.

OFF-WHITE c/o VIRGIL ABLOH™, FW 2015

emergency vehicle, UK

Undercover, SS 2016

Police patrol, U.K.

undercover, ss 2016

Emergency Workers, Italy

The friendly Paramedics of San Gimignano Emergency Services

San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy

Salone del Mobile: The Bottom Line

Salone Milano and Milan Design week are exceptional design showcases, primarily thanks to their top-notch organizers. But each and every participating brand, small and large, national and international had something extraordinary to add. Salone Milano seems to magically bring out the best of everyone who wants to play. Whether it was a large brand exhibiting a full new collection or a small brand launching a single product, the sensitivities and sensibilities of each brand could be seen and felt quite intensely.

Undoubtedly, the majority of products launched during the Salone Milano and Milan Design Week had already undergone scrupulous testing before being exposed to the discriminating public eye at the show. As we know, there is a whole gamut of details a successful product needs to embody in order to become aesthetically and functionally desirable. The brands we saw seemed to consider this not once or twice, but endless times before bringing their latest to this international trade exhibition of such enormous reputation and magnitude. In other words, the successful brands, small and large, did their homework with uncompromising diligence. Everything needed to and did go a step beyond to make it there.

It’s a quality that seems to be lacking from numerous other trade shows, including our own Interior Design Show (IDS) or IIDEX hosted annually in Toronto. Most of the trade booths there are short on imagination, while the products themselves lack newness and desirability. The ethos seems to be about being just good enough, rather than being exceptional. Could it be that for the brands participating at Salone Milano, it is more about pride and joy, whereas here it’s about obligation and responsibility?

What drives crowds and generates well-deserved attention is thoughtful artistry, not only when applied to products, but also when applied to the booths themselves. Every item, even the promotional literature, needs to be infused with the power of invisible yet fully present design to withstand the fierce heat of scrutiny that a trade show and design week will generate. Ultimately, that’s the acid test that produces a show that will make people from around the world come year-after-year to experience it. And as the brands at Salone Milano proved, it’s not about deep pockets, but the willingness to stand out – through thoughtfulness, confidence and exceptional creativity.

Let’s be open to learning from them.

In our next post we’ll look at what sparks an idea. See you in September.

marni ballhaus

Raw Edges x 5VIE Art + Design

maybe blue Would have been better, site installation

La Triennale di Milano ‘Women in Italian Design’

equilibri, trade booth

La Triennale di Milano ‘Women in Italian Design’

Highlights from Milan Design Week

Blending the divide between art, design and architecture is something the organizers of Milan Design Week do quite well. It’s not that most of the products shown during the event, with their artfulness and simplicity, can’t stand alone and deliver potent aesthetic experiences of their own. But more often than not, in addition to their own elegance and beauty, they’re fused with art and elevated from everyday products to objects of desire that convey both meaning and emotion.

From our visit, we’d like to highlight two art-fusion collaborations that stood out, both because they exemplify an invisible divide between art and commerce, and because the resulting product is irresistible in a most distinctive way.

DOLCE&GABANA x SMEG
Inspired by the colourful culture of Sicily, the birthplace of one of the two founding partners, Domenico Dolce, Dolce&Gabana’s bright and bold concepts were not only applied across its SS2016 collection, but also extended to fellow Italian brand Smeg; a brand known for its sleek and stylish home appliances, especially refrigerators. Even though each brand represents a different functional platform, they share similar backgrounds, values and a tradition of being proudly ‘Made in Italy’.

The result of the collaboration was a capsule collection of 100 numbered Smeg FAB28 refrigerators anointed with the unique Dolce&Gabana visual style; a unique combination of Smeg’s quality and technology and Dolce&Gabana’s creativity and artisan workmanship. Each refrigerator featured images of lemons, wooden wheels, battle scenes and marionettes by Sicilian artists – all elements that hearken to poetic marionette theatre and traditional wooden Sicilian carts enriched with classical floral motifs. The collaboration was spectacular and with a price to match—100,000 Euros for each of the 100 irresistible refrigerators.

SIMONETTA RAVIZZA x KARTELL
The Italian fashion brand known for its luxurious yet versatile ready-to-wear fur, Simonetta Ravizza collaborated with Kartell, the Italian maker of contemporary plastic chairs, to design a window installation for the Milano Design & Fashion Week.

The collaboration culminated in blending Kartell’s iconic Ghost chairs with a limited and numbered edition of 30 Furrissima bags. Every one of the 30 Furrissimas was a result of a constant research, transformation and intense experimentation, each with unexpected and never repeated details. All made in Italy and adored across Europe, the whimsical bags, with playfully integrated pieces of fur and a variety of patterned canvases, were love at first sight for us and so many others, evidenced by the fact that they sold out pretty much instantly. Bravo Simonetta Ravizza!

In the next post, we’ll take a closer look at what makes Milan Design Week so magical.

Salone del Mobile Milano

Dolce&Gabana x Smeg

Simonetta Ravizza x Kartell