Whether you prefer a cappuccino with extra foam or a plain black cup of joe, Carlo Bach, Illy’s artistic director, believes that enjoying your favorite caffeinated beverage should be an inspiring experience. That’s why, since rising to his current position at the turn of the century, he has continued the coffee company’s tradition of inviting contemporary artists to create coffee cups for its Art Collection project. Architect Matteo Thun paved the way for the series in 1991, just a year before the Art Collection’s inception, by designing a porcelain cup that not only had a beautiful shape and perfect thickness for piping hot temperatures, but could allow for hand-painted designs on its pearl-white exterior.
“Nearly 25 years ago, we began to ask artists to wrap our coffee cups with a design and visual beauty that stimulates the brain exactly like coffee,” says Bach, who has collaborated with more than 100 renowned artists, including Jeff Koons, Yoko Ono, and Julian Schnabel. “I transform myself into the assistant to the artist and we work together to create the best possible expression of their idea. It’s such an adventure. I always look forward to the next project.”
Bach broke the mold in his latest collaboration with Italian fashion house Emilio Pucci: It’s the first time Illy has worked with a fashion brand, but Laudomia Pucci, daughter of the late Emilio Pucci, is quick to point out that her father’s legacy is not just about pretty clothes and accessories. “The Illy Art Collection meets the fashion world for the first time with this project,” says Laudomia. “However, Pucci has an artistic dimension that is very strong in the brand.”
Emilio Pucci’s “Cities of the World” scarf designs from the late 1950s served as inspirational artwork for Laudomia, who reinterpreted the hand-drawn silk scarves into six prints on three different cup sizes (espresso, cappuccino, and mug) and saucers. Each cup-and-saucer pairing represents the six most stylish cities around the world—London, Paris, New York, Milan, Florence, and Rome—with their most recognizable icons, from Florence’s Piazza Santa Maria del Fiore to New York’s Statue of Liberty. “The cups immediately evoke the poetry behind an Emilio Pucci design,” says Bach. “The collection takes you on an exciting tour around the cities of fashion.”
Each cup, numbered and signed, is part of a limited-edition series available this month. Prices range from $55 to $175.
