Fashion designer Mary Katrantzou enters the competitive world of ‘It bag’ creation for Bvlgari
Athens-born designer Mary Katrantzou has been tasked with building a whole new category of luxury at Bvlgari. It’s a challenge she is relishing.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of her eponymous brand, fashion designer Mary Katrantzou staged a truly epic runway show.
The extravagant affair, held at the Temple of Poseidon Athens in 2019, featured couture creations embodying bold prints and the joy of her brand.
For the Athens-born designer, it represented a homecoming. It was also the genesis of what would become a life-shifting collaboration with Roman jeweller Bvlgari. In addition to her sculptural creations, many exploring Greek philosophy and mythology, models were draped in Bvlgari jewels on loan to the designer.
In April this year Katrantzou was appointed creative director of leathergoods and accessories at Bvlgari, the first such appointment for the jewellery house. It followed five years of Katrantzou working on capsule collections, fragrances and other projects with the brand.
Bvlgari, a deeply and philosophicallyItalian brand, also has roots in Greece. It was founded in Rome by Greek silversmith Sotirio Bulgari.
Thus, that very special show in 2019 was also, as Katrantzou notes, “an opportunity for Bvlgari to celebrate its dual Greco-Roman roots”.
“I think that was the moment that we realised there’s an affinity between my work and the Bvlgari brand,” she says. “There’s a lot of similarities because of my origins in Greece. There’s an affinity and a commonality in our aesthetic, but also in the design philosophy. If I look back at the history of Bvlgari, the narrative, the storytelling, the symbolism, the sensibility to colours, there’s so much in common that already drew me to Bvlgari before we even got the opportunity to work together.
“When I was approached for this role, I felt the foundation was there.”
Katrantzou sees working with the brand as an evolution of her career that allows her own creativity to push forward. “I saw this as an opportunity for me to challenge myself in a new way as a creator, but also doing it in a brand that I respect so much and I feel naturally connected to,” she says.
Katrantzou particularly values being given time to learn and understand the brand, something she acknowledges is increasingly rare in the luxury world.
“[I’ve] had the time to develop a vision for the future of the category. I’ve also had the time to work with the teams and understand the development process, the craftsmanship, what is possible. That has been invaluable,” the designer says.
Her 10-year anniversary show was held just before the covid pandemic upended, in so many ways, how people live and work. Katrantzou, too, changed her life. Instead of basing herself in London – where her Mary Katrantzou team still works – she now splits her time between Athens and Florence, where the Bvlgari bags and leathergoods ateliers are located.
Katrantzou no longer stages runway shows for her brand, which she says has freed up creative energy. She has also had a baby boy. All of these changes allow her to better appreciate time with her family, the space to be creative, and the juice-up of inspiration that new environments can bring.
Splitting her life between these two places also helps with compartmentalising work and home, Katrantzou says. Meaning that, with a good deal of effort, the two don’t need to blend as thoroughly as they commonly do for fellow creatives.
“We made a decision to move from London to Greece when I gave birth to our son, and I’m very happy we did,” she explains.
“I think the world is so different to what it was five years ago. I don’t feel that where you are based has as much gravity as it used to have … I made a decision with my family to move to Athens because we wanted to bring our son up in Greece, and to also be around his grandparents,” she says.
The designer enjoys spending time in different places, too. “Now I have this wonderful opportunity to be visiting Florence every other week, and Rome. So, it’s complicated in terms of travel but very inspiring when you change environments as part of the process of a designer,” she says. “It is a wonderful [way] to switch your creative brain on.”
Katrantzou’s appointment is a signal of intent for her plans for the category, opening a compelling opportunity to entice a new type of customer to the brand.
“The responsibility here is to grow the audience and allow women and men to discover the Bvlgari universe, in some cases, firstly through our category. So it is an introduction to the world of Bvlgari, because a lot of clients will buy a bag or an eyewear piece or a scarf before they buy the jewellery.”
This is not to say the existing customer, including the buyer of precious baubles, will not be equally enthused.
“It’s an opportunity for Bvlgari lovers who are already buying the precious jewellery, the fine jewellery, the watches, to connect to Bvlgari as a brand in their everyday life through one of our bags. So it’s dual,” she says.
The essential function, or the “relatability” of a bag, is something Katrantzou likes about the category.
Present in her first collection – which includes exquisite beaded evening bags, totes and shoulder bags with puffy proportions – are nods to motifs dear to the house. The Serpenti – its most famous symbol – is included as a clasp.
But it was essential to Katrantzou that other design elements from the jeweller’s history, and its future, were present. This includes patterns inspired by mosaic floors at the thermal baths of Caracalla in Rome, and a more abstract interpretation of the leaves of the gingko plant – a motif within the Divas’ Dream jewellery collection and a symbol for strength and resilience. Thinking about ways to incorporate jewellery elements beyond the hardware of a handbag was also important to Katrantzou.
Working with the teams at Bvlgari, including Lucia Silvestri, who designs the jewellery and high jewellery as creative director, and chief executive Jean-Christophe Babin, has been a highlight. She is in “a constant dialogue with Lucia”, with the teams loaning her pieces of jewellery to study.
“Something that I really appreciate in Jean-Christophe, but also at Bvlgari, is this openness and dialogue. [Babin] will be very true to his opinion and share that with you. And that I appreciate. I’m the same way,” she says.
Spending time in the jeweller’s archives has been eye-opening for Katrantzou. “For me, the most strong symbolism of serpenti is its ability to transform, to shed its skin and go through this process of rebirth,” she says.
The idea of transformation is one Katrantzou is keeping close in her new role. Understanding the brand is one thing, exploring it fully and shedding its skin is another.
“I think it is a very privileged position to be in and a big responsibility to be in the Bvlgari archive and the Bvlgari world, and to allow yourself the opportunity to take that and transform it and continuously evolve it.”
This story is from the September issue of WISH.
