Mary Katrantzou wants us to carry Culture and not Phone in Bulgari’s Icons Minaudières Collection
Five enduring symbols have been transformed into precious objets d’art crafted to embody culture.
Bulgari's latest minaudiere collection is engineered to hold a small book but but not a screen. The new Icons Minaudiere Collection features five sculptural mini bags and took around 18 months in the making. Each piece is a study in scale, proportion and curvature. It also contains a bespoke miniature book, written by prominent cultural figure, which is a bid to replace digital content with physical text. It embraces cultural storytelling and artisanal virtuosity.
Offering deeper insight into the collection, Mary Katrantzou wrote in a release, "Each minaudière was conceived not simply to hold objects, but to hold meaning, blending high craftsmanship with cultural storytelling. Carrying culture in your bag is both a metaphor and a reality, a way of cherishing the wisdom of women."
The collection has been photographed by Ethan James Green and stars Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Linda Evangelista, Kim Ji-won, Isabella Rossellini, and Sumayya Vally as the models. "We are honored to have five extraordinary women lend their voice to our Icons and, through their lived experience, give new dimension to their symbolism, transforming heritage into a living dialogue," Katrantzou adds.
The Serpenti Minaudière evokes transformation and mystique with its sinuous silhouette and hand-applied enamel details.The Monete Minaudière channels antiquity with coin-inspired motifs set against lacquer and crystal accents. And the BVLGARI BVLGARI mini clutch offers a refined cylindrical silhouette with mother-of-pearl inlays and signature double-logo engraving, an elegant blend of jewellery and design.