Collaborations between fields such as fashion and interior design are not so unusual. But in the history of design such collaborative ventures have led to mixed reactions and to products that quite often did not use the style and moods of a specific fashion house in a convincing way. This is not the case though with the recent collaboration between Bisazza and Pucci.
On the occasion of Design Miami and Art Basel Miami Beach (both on until today) the leading Italian manufacturer of tesserae for mosaics and the fashion house came together to showcase for the first time in North America a new collection of Bisazza mosaics inspired by historic Pucci prints.
The collaboration was celebrated last Thursday in Miami with an event that included a special installation featuring Bisazza mosaic patterns alongside mannequins dressed in corresponding Emilio Pucci fashions.
Entitled Bisazza Wears Pucci, the collection is currently on view in Miami at the Bisazza (3740 NE 2nd Avenue) and Emilio Pucci (155 NE 40th Street) showrooms, both located in the Design District.
The colourful swirls and twirls of classic Pucci prints actually work rather well when transferred on the mosaic patterns, creating bold and visually striking effects. For the occasion Bisazza created both digital mosaic designs and handmade opus tessellatum mosaics. The former are made employing modern mosaic technology and feature the Amelie, Onde and Pizzo prints.
Amelie (based on a 2006 design) is a geometric floral pattern characterised by a sense of dynamism and movement with a modern graphic effect and it's available in shades of aquamarine or pink on a black and white background.
Based on a scarf design from 1969, the Onde pattern symbolises the fluid motion of the sea, presented in warm shades of brown, beige, white and black. The design for the new Pizzo pattern is instead based on a 2012 Pucci print and emerged from the study of a unique lace by the Florentine brand.
The decorative mosaic panels employing the opus tessellatum technique are instead entirely made by hand and six artisans need more than 200 hours to produce just one panel for the collection.
The handmade panels showcase motifs inspired by historical prints from the maison Emilio Pucci: Collane (1971) in acid tones; Fontana (1968), characterised by turquoise shades and cobalt; and Vivara (1976), a mix of coral and burgundy nuances.
Bisazza has worked in the past with interior designers such as Alessandro Mendini, but this is the first partnership with a fashion house. Emilio Pucci was instead known for his wide range of collaborations that went from designing the logo for the Apollo 15 mission, to creating the Braniff International Airways uniforms, the classic uniforms for the Italian traffic wardens, and designing ceramic pieces for the Rosenthal Studio Line.
Guess this is the sort of collaboration that the Pucci-clad actress turned novelist Jacqueline Susann (Bette Midler) in Andrew Bergman film's Isn't She Great (2000) would have loved.
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