Alexander Wang Talks to A&E on his New Collaboration With Bvlgari

Lara Mansour   |   16-10-2019

Alexander Wang teams up with Bvlgari to redesign the timeless Serpenti Forever Bag – we discover more about the project

 

When fashion designer Aexander Wang first decided to partner with Bvlgari on a collection of handbags he had one goal – that was to honour he brands legacy by being involved in every aspect of the design process from start to finish. Wang visited the brand’s archives in Italy and really submerged himself into the life of Bvlgari in order to produce a collection of pieces that combine the past and present. The Serpenti Through the Eyes of Alexander Wang Capsule collection invited the designer to put his own unique twist onto the classic Serpenti Forever Bag and reinterpret it into something that he feels is relevant to today and also represents both himself and the house of Bvlgari. As the collection launched in New York last month A&E met with the designer to discover more of his idea behind the concept and what inspired him.

 

What attracts you to work with a brand like Bvlgari and what are the common codes you share with them?

When the opportunity came along I was very excited because I’ve always been an admirer of the brand. Even when I was a kid I was first exposed to it through the fragrance and then later on I became a fan because I love staying at their hotels worldwide. It’s a brand that is in a league of its own. It’s much more of a lifestyle brand than just a jewellery brand and in that sense they really push the boundaries and do things that are very innovative and different from a lot of other brands in similar spaces.

So when the collaboration came along I felt it was boundary-less in terms of each and every area that I felt like I could touch upon because there’s so much legacy and heritage. It wasn’t until I got to Rome and of course visited the archives, that I got to really hear the story and understand the narrative of where the brand has been before and where they want to go. For me these collaborations are never about just putting my name to a product or simply doing a print, but really understanding what the concept is and what it looks like 360. So while I was in the archives I was learning who the Serpenti woman is and how the pieces were initially created. There was one notion were the Serpenti woman was noted as the sinful woman and a thrill-seeker who is looking for adventure, that is of course a woman that I find very much relatable! She’s a go-getter, she’s an alpha and she really sets her own agenda and nothing stands in her way and I think that’s someone that I find very deeply inspiring.

One of the most intimate pieces of course is the Tubogas watch. What I didn’t know before was that it was inspired by an actual tube of gas which was in the gas station. The idea that the creator was inspired by something that was so banal and so ordinary but made it into such and extraordinary piece, really struck me as I realised this was my calling and that’s how I wanted to approach this collaboration. Packaging has always been a very important part of buying a luxury product and I wanted to ask how do we bring that to the forefront of the design process? So this idea of taking luxury and flipping it on its head a little bit became a very important starting point and then looking at the functionality of the bags was part two.

 

For the design you revisited one of the old Serpenti heads from the archives, why did you choose this one in particular and why the three heads?

When I first saw this Serpenti head from the sixties in the archives I immediately fell in love with it. Even before I knew that this was the head I wanted to use, I remember wanting to take a picture of the watch that had this head. The little teeth and the way that the head has more of a contour and the eyes were originally done with a ruby. There was something about the attitude of this head that really attracted me to it. It felt ageless, like it allowed itself to also be multi-functional. I say that because when you look at the new bags, without the pockets, the seams were from the original Serpenti bag. But I thought, how do we take those lines and make them utilitarian? I was thinking about this woman who is on the go constantly and wondering how we can make her life a bit easier in terms of finding things in her bag. So I added pockets and repeated the head in different scales and different closures. It brings a little bit of an odd but interesting mood. I love that in my design process; to be able to see things and for people to have an innate emotional reaction to something but also question it a little and ask ‘why am I interested or intrigued by this design element?’ And so I guess all I can say is that maybe it achieved its goal!

 

The mint green is a new colour to the collection – why did you choose this colour?

It is a new colour but a colour that is very much engrained in their history. Bvlgari’s Eau Parfumée Au Thé Vert fragrance was the first time this colour was used. We looked at the entire history of the brand, the books, the legacy and that was something that I really wanted to take into consideration when creating this collection. So the green was brought in from that fragrance.

 

 

What do you still want to achieve that you haven’t done yet?

So much! I’ve only been working in the fashion industry for 15 years but I feel more liberated than ever. I think it is something that comes with being in an industry that’s in a moment where so much is changing and so much of the landscape and the rules are being reconsidered. I think in that sense I would like to be able to think outside the box and move into other territories and other industries that I might want to be involved in. I’m not the first one to want to do this of course, but it’s such an exciting time.

 

Now is the time of inclusivity but you have always been inclusive with what you do, what are your thoughts on how it has become such a prominent discussion today?

It is something that I have never thought twice about. Today it seems we are told, you have to be inclusive but I think I was always just trying to create things that bring people together and that’s always been a very strong ethos of mine. Even from the beginning when we were doing shows that became parties that became events, it was always about bringing people together and so the inclusive part of it is just status quo – it’s what always should have been the case.

 

What worries you?

A lot of things worry me! I would be lying if I didn’t say that! Of course waking up on certain days and not feeling energised and feeling like I have maybe run out of ideas or that there’s not much more I want to do. I think luckily I have the persistence and resilience to get through those tough days and know that I’m around people that I feel loved by, I’m inspired by and people that tell me the truth and challenge me. I think it’s important to get past the tough days and see the bigger picture out here and be able to grow.

 

What do you tell yourself every morning?

I don’t know if I do it consciously but there are definitely days when the weather is beautiful and I wake up in a good mood and Iook out the window and I think appreciate this moment. Appreciate the things you have and that you’re in good health and be grateful. It’s such a simple exercise but I think we all fall into the habit of forgetting to do it, especially when you live in a city like New York where things are so fast and you’re constantly on the go.

 

To whom do you dedicate this collection?

When I started this process I was looking at a lot of mothers and daughters. Ones that I’m close to and also famous mothers and daughters across generations and I wanted this collection to speak to all of them. I wanted it to be ageless and not feel like it was only for a young person or an old person but something that mothers and daughters can both enjoy. You can actually wear some of the bags four ways. As a top handle, as a cross body, as a waist bag and last of all you can take off the top handle and wear it as a clutch – so it’s four bags in one!

 

 

What can we expect to see coming up for your own brand?

There’s quite a few things but nothing I can reveal yet, but I’m really excited to have opportunities. We changed show schedule a year and a half ago and it’s allowed me to think on a different timeline. When you work in fashion, September and February are these two pillars that are always when you start your year. For the rest of the world of course it’s different! I think that now that I’m off that schedule it’s allowed me to still have of course a very strong hand in using the fashion weeks but to celebrate other partnerships or collaborations. They are still times where people come together but at the same time it allows me to be on a different timeline and think about all the other things that I might want to do in other industries and have more brain space to entertain them.

 

If there’s one thing you could change in the strategy of how you do things, what would it be?

To relax! I think my friends tell me that all the time!

 

How would you describe Bvlgari in one word?

Extraordinary. They have been able to be such a leader in every channel that they have participated. There’s not one channel that doesn’t do well and leave an impression and I really respect that because it’s not like they are just dabbling in it they do it with conviction and passion.

By Lara Mansour Sawaya

 

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