Bonaveri Magazine

Florence, June 2018. At Palazzo Pucci, in the
heart of Florence, “Bonaveri, A Fan of Pucci”
went on stage. An event only for three days,
held concurrently with Pitti Uomo.
Door after door, sumptuous room after room,
the history and heritage of Pucci for the first
time were at the public’s fingertips, so they
could learn about, but above all breathe and
enjoy what Pucci was and is.
In the entrance, in the courtyard, a giant Vivara
painted mannequin stood with a group of
smaller mannequins to greet the public and
then, right upstairs, a memorable sight came
into view: 57 mannequins in 31 shades of
Pucci sitting in glamorous poses, all wearing
Pucci foulards, sunglasses and bags, hats and
precious accessories. What a front row!
The co-protagonist of this plunge into the Pucci
puzzle of colours, way of life, garments and
attitude was an elegant silhouette: a mannequin
revisited – and dressed up - not only in many
hues but in many sizes, materials, prints and
gestures as well. And… here was “A Fan of
Pucci” room, playing and overlapping reality
and meanings: at centre stage a mannequin
wrapped in length Pucci fabric that was being
fanned by the wind!
“We have been using Bonaveri mannequins
for more than 20 years, our favourite is the
Schläppi, either in white, skin colour or gold,
which you could say, has become the leitmotiv of
our retail and showroom. We have become very
attached to its forms, to its particular form of
femininity, which in my opinion is transmitted in
the Schläppi through the movement it conveys
and through its freshness,” Laudomia Pucci
says, Deputy Chairman and Image Director at
the maison, daughter of Marchese Pucci, who
founded the eponymous label in 1947. “I think
we perhaps were among its first clients and I
think Andrea (Bonaveri) can confirm that our
relationship has been constant over the years.”
So, Pucci long-time relationship with Bonaveri
led to this exhibition “A Fan of Pucci” in
Florence.
No, that’s another aspect, that was created parallel
to this but completely distinct from it, let’s say. This
relationship with Bonaveri already existed. But
“Bonaveri, A Fan of Pucci” follows another track, it is
related to the Heritage Hub idea I launched here at
the Palazzo. Heritage Hub is my proposal and project
to work on our brand heritage and archives, from the
cataloguing to the events, involving new talent and
students just out of the leading fashion schools.
“We have been
using Bonaveri
mannequins for
more than 20 years”
The Pucci heritage and the present.
In a lively and vibrant manner, we are trying to create
archives for the future for Pucci. I created it as an
experiment at the maison’s historical headquarters
in Florence. We are creating it again here thanks
to the help of the LVMH group and, clearly it is an
entertaining experiment. It’s something extra, which
all brands with a particular history like us are happy
to showcase. Here we quite aspired to do something
different, innovative with very voluminous archives.
So what did we do? We started decorating the interior
spaces. I called my friend, architect Piero Lissoni, and
we started to install turquoise and fuscia carpeting,
my father’s colour scheme from his first boutique here
at the Palazzo.
Then the conversation with Andrea Bonaveri started,
both eager to do something marvellous together! We
started thinking about how to use Sala Bianca, which
is the most important one of the Palazzo. Since I really
like collaborations even of the most innovative kind,
I was thinking how to transform this into a different
kind of partnership, because a maison of mannequins
has never before joined together with a maison of
storytelling like Pucci. What I liked right away was that
Bonaveri was no longer just our store and showroom
partner who wearing our products, but it became a
performer alongside us in a story tale about Made in
Italy and Italian quality and co-protagonist in a
show.
A show that recounts the past in a very fresh
way. Often opening archives and enhancing
their value can turn out to be nostalgic. Here
we have a breath of unexpected freshness.
Thank you, but you see, this is a bit in the spirit
of what I am doing here, with my global vision of
things, and let’s say that if they had said to me
“Do an exhibition with Bonaveri mannequins,”
I might have said no. I wanted this Florentine
reality to be used in an experimental way and
when I speak of archives for the future, it is in
this sense, not in a museum sense. Florence
has 69 museums, we certainly don’t need
another one! Do you see where I am going? So
we created a happening, an event, we told the
story in a fun way that enhances the qualities of
one or the other partner.
The event presented also the behind the
curtains of Bonaveri with the atelier area. The
Cutting Room, the Sewing Room, the Miniature
Workshop showing Bonaveri artisans at work…
This is fundamental: Bonaveri made a
mannequin painted in Pucci’s Vivara print to
tell the story of Pucci through its craftsmanship.
As said, these are two partners who recount
their know-how together. We could not tell the
story without Bonaveri nor could Bonaveri tell it
without us.
And such an original title, “A Fan of Pucci”. As
you said, Bonaveri the performer, the actor,
who demonstrates his admiration for the Pucci
heritage.
And that is the most interesting thing of this
moment that we created together. Of course,
we had the beauty of the mannequins, the
research, etc., that have brought to light the
quality of Bonaveri and Made in Italy, which we
are all proud of and jealous of at the same time.
But what is important is we sent out a truly new
message, new and new, to those who came
and read about the history of the brand and our
Made in Italy in a totally innovative way - this to
me was and still is the big challenge. And the
big challenge is also having had young talent working
with two historical maisons: and this opens the way to
other collaborations for me, and other dialogs between
two Made in Italy companies at the same level of
quality. It also opens the way to using technology in
anything you can think of. We Italians tell our children
“Go to the museum, go see Florence… Go see Venice.
Here people had fun and when you are having fun, you
enter into the heart of the matter, you make it yours,
you snap a photo, you post something on Instagram.
Today you have to be able to communicate the same
emotions by involving the public. Don’t you think so? I
think that with Bonaveri our strength is indeed this”.
Bonaveri mannequins wearing even more beautiful
garments than Pucci’s, but the emotion we offer
together cannot be replicated.
The Runway, showcasing a front-row of mannequins
wearing sunglasses, scarves and little handbags, is
unforgettable. The display of Pucci’s entire chromatic
spectrum was there!
This is what the brand is really about and I did it
on purpose. When you enter the Palazzo you see
the prints first, but also, right upstairs, you see and
understand the colours, and then you see other prints.
I am explaining the importance of the brand to you
and who I am, but I am doing it in a light -hearted and
simple way, with the carpeting and the mannequins
in different shades of colour. At this point you might
ask me: “What does this mean, what is it?” And then
I would explain it to you. But you can only do it if you
have a quality partner on the other side who creates
marvellous mannequins for you.
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