Mary Katrantzou, Bvlgari’s first-ever Creative Director of Leather Goods and Accessories, discusses utilising her creative sensibilities to funnel a unique expression of creativity for the iconic house.
How does it feel to be appointed the creative director of Bvlgari Leather Goods and Accessories?
It’s an honour and a big respon- sibility to be appointed to this new role, to be in the position to build on the incredible heritage and codes of Bvlgari. I view the category as a connecting link, between the magnificent beauty of this Roman high jewellery house, and different facets of everyday life. That inspires me to craft new ways of experiencing the Bvlgari universe. One of the values Bvlgari was founded on is an idea of cultural openness – to allow people to connect to the brand in different ways. What also excites me, as part of my role, is to find the space between a piece of jewellery and a functional accessory. What’s the distinction between a bag being a piece of jewellery or a piece of jewellery turning into a bag? That fascinates me – and at Bvlgari, more than any other brand, we are in a unique position to explore that space. The foundation of the leather goods and accessories category has historically relied on the icon of Serpenti – but there’s such a rich history of symbols such as Tubogas, Monete, and icons such as Divas’ Dream, Bvlgari Bvlgari and Cabochon to explore. There’s an incredible opportunity to build on new pillars.
“What also excites me, as part of my role, is to find the space between a piece of jewellery and a functional accessory”
What interests you about Bvlgari, and what attracted you to the house?
Bvlgari is a brand I have always been inspired by. It’s been part of my formation as a designer. My work has always referenced points outside of fashion – looking to objets d’art, interiors, and to jewellery – to symbolism and filtered beauty found in design. Growing up in Greece, I instinctively felt connected to Bvlgari designs because of their sense of symmetry, their sense of harmony and their importance around narrative, around this idea of alchemy and syncretism. I think automatically, before even studying Bvlgari’s archives, those were codes that I recognised in terms of my own aesthetic, my own methodology. At Bvlgari, there is the idea of cultural and artistic eclecticism – of eternal transforma- tion, of inspiration being drawn from diverse cultures and traditions to create their own distinctive design aesthetic. Bvlgari is undeniably a master of colours, fusing diverse elements, shapes and materialities. That is very close to the way I work. I feel connected to the founder, Sotirio Bulgari – perhaps because we both have roots in Greece. It’s something that is not so tangible. Harmony, colour sensibility, and this idea of alchemy. They’re all notions or disciplines that I grew up around. Sotirio was a pioneer of his time. As a Greek immigrant who settled in Rome, he was attracted by its cultural and artistic energy. The ‘Roman-ness’ of Bvlgari is filtered through his eyes. I feel the same way when I’m in Rome, amongst history, given the opportunity to discover the richness of Bvlgari’s design history. I recognise the codes, the archetypes, the aesthetic sense. In their designs, you discover magnificence through the ingenuity of design and the exquisite craftsmanship and sensibility.
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How and when did you first began to collaborate with Bvlgari?
The first time we collaborated was for my first couture show for Spring/Summer 2020 at the Temple of Poseidon – a love letter to Greece, and a homecoming of sorts. I’d never done a fashion show in Greece before, and it was for the benefit of the Elpida cancer charity, so it was significant on many levels. I was already speaking with Bvlgari about collaborating on their ‘Serpenti Through the Eyes Of’ collection, and Bvlgari saw a connection, both between their heritage in Greece and also between my work and their designs. They loaned us incredible pieces from their Heritage high jewellery collection – the jewels were literally laid out on the ancient rocks surrounding the temple, like treasure, being placed on the models as they walked the show. I think both Bvlgari and I felt a strong connection, a mutual appreciation of values that made that first collaboration, that first moment, make sense. From there, our relationship evolved naturally. It’s been over four years since that moment and since then, we’ve collaborated on three different collections. I don’t think you often have the opportunity to build a relationship with a brand in that way, to build trust.
For the Bvlgari ‘Serpenti Through the Eyes Of’ collections, you drew inspiration directly from the archives. How important do you feel archive pieces are to your role now, and to the development and evolution of leather goods at Bvlgari?
Finding a connecting thread between history, the present and the future is very important in my work. And there are so many codes and icons of Bvlgari that have their own significant part within history that have been untapped in leather goods and accessories. To see those pieces in reality – from the Fifties and beyond – is incredibly inspiring, and they all feel so modern. There’s an interview where Andy Warhol talked about Bvlgari in the 1980s, and said “When I am in Rome, I always visit Bvlgari, because it is the most important museum of contemporary art.” These objects tell the story of Bvlgari. The archive of Bvlgari, honestly, is mind-blowing. For me, the archives are so rich and so layered, with so many ideas – significant brand codes, but also smaller details. It’s limitless inspiration. It’s hand in hand with the freedom that I feel I have been given to reinvigorate, to re-establish, to reinvent certain codes of the house but equally to build on new brand codes that have been established in recent years and are part of the Bvlgari high jewellery collections today.
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I think my role as a creative director of Leather Goods and Accessories is, in a sense, to tell the story, to educate, to inspire, to present a rich vocabulary to clients who want to discover all the different facets of Bvlgari, and also introduce our universe to people who come to Bvlgari and buy a bag before they buy a piece of fine jewellery. I want our collections to talk about the story of Bvlgari, the layered narrative, the codes, the symbolism – the values Bvlgari stands for. The archive extends to the present day. I am inspired by Bvlgari today. The incredible engineering of Bvlgari jewellery pieces provide endless inspiration – inspiration that no other house has at their disposal. Usually, you work on leather goods, and the hardware is secondary – here, there’s an opportunity to work with these incredible pieces of industrial design and give them a different meaning, really enhance the way you perceive them. It’s beyond just being decorative – it can influence the architecture of the bag, its proportionate scale, its wearability. It’s not about transporting pieces from the past to the present or the cross pollination across brand categories, it’s about the ever-evolving nature of these designs. It’s about being a creative lab for endless metamorphosis.
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How has working with the Bvlgari artisans influenced your designs?
All Bvlgari bags are handmade. Bvlgari silk in Como is hand-finished. There’s something to be said in this day and age that you would think some of these processes would have been industrialised. Nothing is. Everything is done by hand, painstakingly so. You can see that in our atelier in Florence, the attention to detail and how skilled all the craftsmen and artisans are. It’s also fantastic to have a dialogue with the jewellery – that exchange between the high jewellery and the leather goods is so important to me and has opened my mind to what’s possible. In our high jewellery bags, you witness the epitome of excellence in design and craft alike.
Your first Bvlgari collection is going to debut later this year. What can we expect from that?
When I came to Bvlgari, I knew that I wouldn’t have the chance to have a fully realised collection immediately, but I also knew that there was an opportunity for a pattern or a symbol that can work alongside the iconic Serpenti, yet also stand on its own. Something emblematic – that is deeply connected to Bvlgari and its Roman roots and that can take the place of a logo. Something to assert the Bvlgari identity. This is something I wanted to introduce – a design that is beyond a seasonal animation. I also wanted the symbol to have the versatility to evolve into its own new pillar, a new architecture for Bvlgari leather goods. I also wanted to examine the heritage icons of Bvlgari – archetypes for the future but presented in the most authentic way for the brand. It’s almost about laying out the vocabulary that can then allow us to write this new chapter. I am excited to explore this space, between an item being considered a piece of jewellery and a functional accessory to hold your possessions. I’m really interested in the space between function and adornment–trying to occupy this space that no one else does. Something that can be unique to Bvlgari. One-of-a-kind pieces, unique pieces that other brands cannot offer with the same authenticity or the same excellence.
What are you most looking forward to in this role?
Since I launched my own brand, I was always very open to collaboration. In fact, at a time when designers were shying away from collaborations, I embraced them because I felt they challenged me creatively and they increased my bandwidth as a designer. But I always felt the limitation of time. I’m most excited about being able to be part of a brand that has such a rich design history, symbolism, narrative, and having the time and space to really evolve a creative vision intrinsically linked to its design ethos and aesthetic. With short-term collaborations you draw on instinct, you draw on whatever captures your attention first, but you don’t have the time to equal their depth of heritage. I feel a deep connection to the aesthetic and values of Bvlgari. Leather goods and accessories are part of daily life, and I look forward to expanding the Bvlgari universe, elevating the everyday and creating new ways of experiencing the contemporary Italian art of living.
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Who do you feel is the Bvlgari woman?
It isn’t about age, or gender, or culture. It’s a person with confidence, audacious and free-spirited, who knows themselves, who is able to assert themselves. To wear a symbol as powerful as Serpenti, you need to be in a position of confidence – to be able to feel empowered by it, you need to have the power to ‘tame’ it. Bvlgari is bold – it is not shy and retiring. Historically, Bvlgari jewellery adorned icons of their time – charismatic women like Elizabeth Taylor, Anna Magnani, Anita Ekberg, Sofia Loren, Ingrid Bergman, Monica Vitti and Diana Vreeland were drawn to the brand – and that continues up to now. Bvlgari speaks to an audience who appreciate and value craftsmanship, timeless craftsmanship, and excellence. They come to Bvlgari for that.
What does the name Bvlgari mean to you?
There’s a weight to a brand like Bvlgari. There’s gravity. It’s a name that so many people recognise and there’s a universal quality beyond just excellence in design. There’s the cultural and artistic heritage, the importance in terms of the history of design. And the DNA of Bvlgari is entirely unique. Bvlgari isn’t quiet luxury – but our values, our cultural openness, our pioneering spirit and our embrace of artisanship and excellence – are eternal. I love the idea that Bvlgari brings the same level of perfection to a handbag, to the way we handle our fine leather, as we do to a piece of high jewellery. We afford it with the same preciousness.
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