Snakes & Leather

British designer Nicholas Kirkwood reimagines Bulgari’s Serpenti Forever collection and takes the Italian luxury brand beyond the high grounds

- Evon Chng

Selling out just days after its launch on various online sites, Nicholas Kirkwood’s latest collaboration with Bulgari is a bonafide hit but the British designer remains grounded, calling the experience a learning process – one where he got to experiment with materials and textures, making tweaks along the way. The Italian luxury brand’s and Kirkwood’s fondness for architectural shapes and graphic forms means their design codes match in a way that few other designer tie-ups would. At the recent Spring/Summer 2018 Bulgari presentation in Milan, we chatted with the designer on his Serpenti Forever capsule and more.

You’re a shoe designer. What was it like to work on bags for the first time?

 It’s a learning process, full of technicalities, when it comes to designing bags. And to me, it’s another product to lend my aesthetic to. The approach to the silhouette and design is almost the same, whether it’s a shoe, bag, table, or even a building.