Mary Katrantzou has been appointed creative director of leather goods and accessories at Bulgari. This is a newly created position. The Greek-born artist, who later lived in London, made a name for herself in the late 1980s, soon after studying at Central Saint Martins, specializing in the then-new medium of digital printing. She also immediately showed a passion for jewellery. Her “CSM MA” collection, later acquired by Browns, featured hyper-realistic trompe l’oeil images of necklaces. Clothes from subsequent collections have been compared to Fabergé eggs.
His new area of responsibility at Bulgari ranges from leather bags to silk fabrics to unique or very special bags with a high jewelery factor: “When something is no longer considered jewelery but rather functional – and what is possible in this intermediate area?” asks Mary Katrantzou: “This is where Bulgari’s massive archive comes in. Studying the originals and seeing how they can be transformed, and seeing this category as a creative laboratory – it’s incredible to me.”
Mary Katrantzou’s connection to Bulgari dates back to 2019, when the Italian jewelry company lent her its prized necklaces, bracelets and earrings for a fashion show it hosted at the monumental Temple of Poseidon in Athens. Cate Blanchett wore a stunning jeweled bodice from the collection that coordinated with her blonde hair at the 2020 Golden Globes. Katrantzou’s relationship with the Roman brand deepened once again in 2021, when she designed a capsule of leather bags and jeweled minaudières inspired by the house’s famous Serpenti motif.
