Marketing with Style
One of the more unusual explorations of design to be seen at Salone 2008 came courtesy of luxury Italian sunglasses brand Persol. For the past three years Persol has been building its presence at the fair by way of promoting its own rich heritage in conjunction with that of the contemporary design scene.
In 2008, this meant four cutting-edge designers wearing some very smart sunglasses, filmed in black and white against the backdrop of four Italian cities. More than merely an advert for nice shades, each designer gave a running commentary on what style and design means to them; in their work, in the context of their chosen city and with reference to Persol.
Patrick Norguet, Martino Gamper, Hector Serrano and Jason Miller were the four designers under the spotlight, tramping the streets of Venice, Turin, Genoa and Milan respectively. Under the name ‘Persol: Visioni, Design in Viaggio’ the resulting short films are part insight into the designers’ way of thinking, part city tour and part fashion shoot.
What might sound like a tenuous exercise in product placement is actually a rather slick and interesting production. {Agreed! These vignettes shot in black & white, featuring the individual designers with the product as prop to the story, are beautifully done, tastefully executed and notably memorable}. Shown in Superstudio Piu throughout the fair, the films were something of a welcome distraction from everything else on show, capitalising on the cult of designer-celebrity that seems to get bigger at each Salone. [Wallpaper]
