There are imaginative objects that we like because they are not just beautiful, but also intriguing, irresistible icons as alluring as art pieces. Il lato oscuro del design, a book by Dario Russo, focuses on objects paradoxically considered as design when in fact they do not serve their real purpose in daily life, but simply show an esthetic, elite nature. To name one, Philippe Starck’s lemon squeezer, a cult object that is a status symbol for the owners, and the fulfillment of their desires.
This is how these products find their way to people’s hearts ̶ for the emotional implications that they hide. But you will be wondering what these first lines have to do with the title of this article. Dario Russo’s book came to my mind when I read an interview with Pietro Leonardi. A professional architect and the amateur creative director of Calicanto, his family’s luxury bag brand, Leonardi stated that the brand intends to be recognizable in a discreet, not ostentatious way, with bags to be desired as design objects to fell in love with for their own evocative power. All without losing sight of their primary function as containers.
If this is Calicanto’s goal, I must admit that with me personally, they met it. I learned about the brand when browsing a monthly magazine that I usually read, in an ad campaign where Venetian heritage blended with the model’s blasé allure as she showed the raffia green Mini Flap bag.
Calicanto mixes the leatherworking expertise of a family of craftsmen from Riviera del Brenta with advanced technologies. The emblem of exquisite Made in Italy crafting, the label’s collection stands out for research and design. Its forward-looking styles are the result of Leonardi’s technical design background.
The collection is inspired by Venice, in all its colors and complexities. The bag linings are blue like the gondola covers, and some accessories owe their names to the city, like wooden-detailed Lido, or Biennale, a tridimensional it-piece where leather was manually cut and assembled with premium crafting techniques. On the other hand, the Fall-Winter 2021 collection explores the city’s ties to byzantine capital Constantinople.
Edits from limited lines make up Calicanto’s selection, introducing pastel tones for Spring 2020 with the Biennale and Lido styles coming in aloe, gardenia and aquamarine hues.
Micro-architectures in leather: a double partner in style, for cosmopolitan women who love statement looks.
