NEW YORK — Bulgari’s temporary shop at the Barneys New York Madison Avenue flagship isn’t the typical 400-square-foot pop-up store.
The Roman jeweler today unveiled a large floor-to-ceiling tree with a gold-toned trunk and hexagonal “leaves” in the house’s proprietary shade of Imperial Saffron, or burnished gold. An Imperial Saffron table with a glass case on top and the Bulgari logo on the front completes the display, which will be in place throughout June and July.
Bulgari is featuring its Serpenti collection, showcasing the line for the first time across categories, including jewelry, watches and accessories such as handbags and scarves.
“The tree is a timeless symbol of beauty, strength, wisdom and above all, life,” said Daniel Paltridge, president of Bulgari North America. “This interpretation brings together the tree and the serpent. The snake wraps around the tree and its iridescent scales appear on the delicately layered shimmering leaves in a continuous interplay of solid and open shapes and light and shadow.”
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Products such as Serpenti Forever flap cover handbags sit on glass shelves in the shade of the tree, while vitrines hold Serpenti jewelry watches in white or pink gold and semi-pavé or full-pavé diamonds, which retail for $48,100 to $97,000.
The Bulgari collaboration is the first example of Barneys’ new approach to introducing products. “We’re looking for extraordinary, unconventional methods for presentations and experiences,” said Daniella Vitale, chief operating officer and senior executive vice president. “We feel very strongly about having that entertainment aspect and more of an art or installation type of model. We know that’s ultimately what the customer is responding to.
“This is how we carry out our voice with some of these larger partners,” said Vitale. “Bulgari is so unexpected. That’s the reason for doing this.” Barneys is considering collaborating in the fall with “a larger brand. We’re looking at a lot of these one-off types of projects that are a little more about the experience. This distinctive and unconventional approach really has to be part of our vernacular going forward.
“We’re using data of online consumers’ shopping patterns to make more informed decisions,” Vitale said. “It’s allowed us to take more risks such as the [Bulgari] pop-up in the physical stores.”
“We wanted to be a little entrepreneurial and quite bold,” Paltridge said. “Hopefully, we will surprise people in a nice way in the Barneys environment. We wanted to bring this magnificent collection to life. Who’s to say that there won’t be other opportunities in the future to do pop-up shops in North America?”