East and West meet in the Bulgari Studio

Thirty-eight billion won, more than two million 600 thousand euros. It is the price of an 80 square meter apartment on the 11th floor of a residential tower in Cheongdam, a deluxe segment north of Gangnam, Seoul. The speculative boom in the real estate market in the city’s most valuable neighborhoods, where a two-room apartment can cost up to 30 thousand euros per square meter because it overlooks the Han River, it is the thermometer of the hedonistic ferment that is affecting the Korean capital. A metropolis that has become the holodeck of the globalized world, a place where tradition and high tech go hand in hand in an atmosphere that feels more like augmented reality than virtual. A stage where everything appears technological, sparkling and possible.

It is no coincidence that Seoul and the new iconography in which European cyberpunk meets the manga world were respectively thethe stage and inspiration of the party with which Bulgari Studio was presented to the world, the platform with which the Roman jewelry brand begins a philosophical and stylistic journey made of new aesthetic contaminations which in the coming years will give an increasingly contemporary allure to the brand’s fine jewelery collections. Including those that have already become among the brand’s classics, such as the B.zero1 ring which turns 25 this year. A piece born almost by chance in 1999 – the first print run consisted of only a thousand pieces which immediately sold out – which is the protagonist of the first digital campaign created by Antoni Tudisco which winks at the imaginative subcultures of this part of the world.

Played between a desire to consume and have fun due to an economic boom and a very oriental rigid work discipline, Seoul has a double soul that can take you by surprise. The nightlife districts of Itaewon, Sinsa and Hongdae are more crowded on weekend nights than a Barcelona Rambla, but the rest of the week they appear empty, clean and silent. Korea is a hypercompetitive society even in terms of studying, the social elevator does not offer discounts and an unwritten law says that only on the weekend is it permissible to let yourself go. The only exception is the night of any Thursday in March, when the launch party for Bulgari Studio takes place at the Théâtre des Lumières. Outside the building, hundreds of teenagers wait neatly for the opportunity to take a selfie with Lisa, frontwoman of the k-pop group Blackpink, Bulgari testimonial who has come to attend the performances which give a taste of the brand’s stylistic new deal. The hypnotic performance of the French choreographer Sadeck Berrabah, who guides the arms and hands of 84 dancers like precise gears in a watchmaking caliber, is followed by the imaginative robotic set based on techno music and video animation by the DJ and digital artist Anyma, aka Matteo Milleri, half of the duo Tale of us, also son of the CEO of ExilorLuxottica Francesco and fresh ex-husband of the top model Vittoria Ceretti.

The exhibition

Cabochon: jewels “with the soul” of Bulgari on display

by Silvia Luperini

February 21, 2024

“Being disruptive has always been a need for us” he explains Lucia Silvestri, creative director of the brand’s jewelry. “In the 1980s, when I took my first steps in the company, I watched the Bulgari gentlemen who combined precious materials such as gold with more common ones such as steel, ceramic or marble. Behind this new platform there is the same philosophy “, he continues, “looking for contaminations with other worlds and other creators who we leave free to be inspired as they want by our iconic pieces. We like the idea of hearing other bells and Bulgari Studio allows us to do it in a useful, fun and innovative way” .
East and West, real and virtual, noble materials combined with more common materials: the trendbook of the new Bulgari vision is consistently played on innovation, but always well anchored to the classic stylistic features of the brand: the elasticity of Tubogas, the classic proportions of Bulgari watch Bulgari and the stylized Colosseum of the shapes of B.zero1. “The challenge was precisely to find a delicate balance between the heritage of the brand and my contemporary style” explains Antoni Tudisco, “digital Picasso” (as he defines himself in the bio of his Instagram profile) in which opposite souls coexist, as befits the first standard-bearer of the new platform: Italian father, Filipino mother, German passport and residence. “My Italian genes infuse my work with passion, emotion and craftsmanship, while my Filipino genes bring a love of bright colors, intricate patterns and more generally a sense of cultural richness. German precision and attention to detail are reflect in the technical execution of my art,” he explains. “As an artist, I aim to capture and amplify personal narratives through my reinterpretations, infusing each piece with its own essence and resonance.”