Emilio Pucci and illy are pleased to announce their first collaboration. The Florentine-based fashion brand and the Trieste-based coffee company have partnered on the creation of a special collection of printed coffee cups.
Part of illy’s revered Art Collection, the cups draw inspiration from 6 of Emilio Pucci’s “Cities of the World” exclusive, hand-drawn scarf prints depicting scenes from global metropolises, including one designed by the Marquis Emilio Pucci in 1957.
“This is the first time we’ve ever worked with a fashion brand,” says Carlo Bach, Art & Creative Director of illy, and mastermind of the company’s successful art-based program. “But Emilio Pucci was himself an artist, and it made perfect sense to bring his enduring vision and unmistakable style to life.”
“My father was always sketching, drawing and creating,” says Laudomia Pucci, daughter of the late Marquis and current Image Director of the fashion label. “In a way, he was always as much an artist as a fashion designer, so it is wonderful to see his work sit together with illy’s esteemed roster of contemporary artists.”
Since its inception in 1992, the illy Art Collection has collaborated with hundreds of leading contemporary artists, including top art world luminaries such as Marina Abramović, Robert Rauschenberg, Jeff Koons, Julian Schnabel, Anish Kapoor, and Daniel Buren.
Each has lent their creativity and singular imprint to illy’s cups, creating a rich cadre of collectible table top objects.
The shape of the espresso cup itself, designed by architect Matteo Thun in 1991, is by now ubiquitous throughout Italy and the rest of the world, an immediately recognizable symbol of high quality and passionate attention to detail.
The Emilio Pucci – illy Art Collection features six different prints on three different cup sizes: espresso, cappuccino and mug formats. Portraying illustrations of Florence, Rome, Milan, New York, London, and Paris, the whimsical prints were selected from Emilio Pucci’s popular “Cities of the World” collection.
The story of these remarkable prints begins in 1957 when the Marquis Emilio Pucci penned his now iconic Battistero illustration, a special drawing depicting Florence’s Piazza Santa Maria del Fiore shot through with bright flashes of vibrant lemon yellow, tangerine orange, “Emilio” pink and deep fuchsia.
Originally produced for his chic silk twill scarves, the print was conceived as a portable postcard; a love letter to the Marquis’ hometown and a souvenir his clients could carry and treasure when they returned home.
Roughly sketched and brightly color-blocked, the original artwork embodies Pucci’s signature, undisputable style and became the blueprint for the other hand-drawn cities which followed in recent years.
The Emilio Pucci – illy Art Collection is sold in sets contained within a specially designed Pucci box upon which the various monuments from the “Cities of the World” designs loop together to form a single, imaginary global skyline on a background of vivid Pucci color.
Carrying portable artwork, the cups are much more than revered objects.
The cups have been elevated to the sphere of small works of art to enjoy, see and use every day.
Numbered and signed, each is part of a limited edition series, sold in discreet channels such as illy’s shops and a few select design shops and pop up locations around the world, as well as through Pucci’s online flagship www.emiliopucci.com in Europe.
Available starting October, the collection is a perfect choice for Christmas gifting
