What does Bulgari expect from Fuorisalone?
I’d like for the project to address the brand's deep connection to design and to transmit the dedication to design in our jewelry. Also to highlight the fundamental inspiration that comes from everyday objects (if you think about it, Serpenti is no more than a shower tube reinterpreted and elevated to jewelry).
It’s only through this approach, with limits, obstacles, and simplicity, that creativity is able to find its way and to find beauty in every object and material.
Aristocratic pop as only Bulgari can. The historic Made in Italy jewelry brand hits Fuorisalone 2018 with a mind-boggling labyrinth weaving not only physical spaces, but also conceptual readings.
The black and white pattern inspired by the B.zero 1 collection is transferred to the walls, ceilings, and floors in the very heart of the Brera Design District. Through a pathway illuminated by the rules of design according to Bulgari, the installation takes visitors on a journey to follow the rules, break the conventions, capture the unexpected, and reinvent the rules.
Glass cases embedded throughout the labyrinth tell the story of the B.zero 1 collection, an icon from the Roman maison.
Materials, modules, and colors are arranged in three rooms, each designed by diverse designers. MVRDV takes on the first space, transforming the Serpenti bracelet in a spatial experience with kaleidoscopic effects manifested in materials connected to Bulgari. In the second, Storagemilano examines geometry through gold surfaces and the multifaceted stone cuts. The final area, entrusted to Ivan Navarro with Courtney Smith, explores concepts of light with neon illumination and strategically placed mirrors.
This is the first time Bulgari is participating in Fuorisalone. What pushed you to get involved this year?
Bulgari has actually participated in Fuorisalone for 10 years, but always in the hotel. This year, we wanted to break free and enter Fuorisalone with an experiential space, risk a little bit more, and get closer to the international public visiting Milan Design Week.
Not everybody knows the story of this brand that’s actually very connected to design, and we wanted to share that this year.
We imagined a kind of “Bulgari path”, which includes an installation in the hotel, the Mirror Cube, and the Bulgari Gallery in the boutique of Via Montenapoleone.
Everything is connected to B.zero 1, the iconic collection connecting Bulgari jewelry with the world of design.
Bulgari is synonymous with jewelry, which is perhaps on the smallest scale to design. When confronted within a space sprawling over 1,000 square meters, what is the red thread in your approach that stays loyal to the concept at any scale?
Confronting micro and macro scale was a fantastic experience. The first thing you think of when talking about jewelry is the incredible attention given to the microcosms within the details. This is the first lesson I learned from the jewelers. And it also makes a difference when we enter into the architectural scale.
Bulgari created an aesthetic code with statement jewels that play with volume, simple geometries, and bold colors. We just took these principles and rendered them in macro form, looking to bring the same creative and emotional values in a larger space.
In the labyrinth, the ring becomes a pattern enclosing visitors. Then, when the B.zero 1 collection is displayed itself, the concept comes full circle here in the exhibit’s core.
The installation is called Bulgarirules. Some rules to follow are often overlapped by others. What are the rules of Bulgari?
The B.zero 1 collection was born after “reinventing rules”, from breaking with the basic rules in the world of jewelry. When you start a new practice, the rules are fundamental (“follow the rules”), then with experience you can break those rules (“break the conventions”), and finally reinvent them (“all rules can be reinvented”).
The rules we gave ourselves were related to various aspects of the jewelry as well as the brand itself. I’m referring particularly to the modularity, because B.zero 1 is something you can play with, which was emphasized in the room by Storagemilano. There, they experimented with sounds and noises, leaving the imagination free to roam.
Ivan Navarro, MVRDV, and Storagemilano. The three artists responsible for the experiential rooms are all very diverse. Why did you choose them?
Because creativity is diverse!
We started by researching artists and architects that shared the same principals as our brand: modularity, color in relation to light, and experimentation with materials.
After having established these points, we looked to the artists with whom we’ve already collaborated in the past.
We started working with MVRDV a couple of years ago to experiment with new materials to apply to our storefront in Kuala Lumpur. If B.zero 1 breaks the rules of materials with ceramics, bronze, and metals, the architecture of MVRDV does so with concrete, inside of which a glass resin is cast, using the same technique for our Serpenti.
With Storagemilano, a studio that I met with almost by chance, when looking for a connection with the city of Milan. Ivan Navarro was a suggestion from one of the youngest members of my team. They were able to convince me with the phrase: “his light is like poetry”.
