Tell us about your journey at Marina B since joining the brand?
Joining the Marina B brand is what I would call a dream come true. It has been a journey of bringing a “sleeping beauty” back to life. I have always admired this brand since I was a young student in Italy in the eighties. It was one of the most desirable and sought-after collections of jewelry of that time.
To be able to bring the brand into the 21st century is an extreme honor, given Marina Bulgari’s cultural and aesthetic heritage, as well as a very exciting challenge. Marina B is a high jewelry brand, and the journey now is really to bring back new designs inspired by Marina’s sketches back to life but with the flair and wearability of today. We will be continuing to create high jewelry collections but also everyday designs for the modern woman.
What inspires you most about the heritage of Marina B and how do you find ways you make it your own?
What inspires me the most from the Marina B heritage is the use of color, including black, innovative techniques, and boldness. The exacting standards set out by our heritage are incorporated into both special occasion pieces and those that can be worn every day.
Have you found ways that you and Marina Bulgari are similar or different?
With Marina B, we have very similar ways to envision jewelry and that is why this is my new home now and I love it so much. We both like bold, playful, comfortable, and colorful jewelry. Both Marina and I love designing pieces that are convertible and can be worn many ways, making these unique and adaptable for many different occasions. I also find her story extremely inspirational, and while we differ in ways we started in the industry, we have common ground on what we stand for in core values, such as empowering women in this field and beyond, and creating new generations of collectors.
Can you tell me about your creative process in designing new pieces?
The creative process comes in two ways for me: the first is directly being inspired by old designs to be modernized and refreshed for today; the second after discovering and falling in love with beautiful and unique gemstones to incorporate into the Marina B iconic style.
Who are some of your favorite jewelry muses?
From the past the most iconic famous muses are Sophia Loren, Elisabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy. In present day, the ones that wear Marina B so well are Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Gisele Bündchen. And probably my favorite muse is this timeless woman, active but often a mother, building her own career and collecting jewelry by and for herself.
What does the near future have in store for Marina B? Any exciting news or directions the brand is heading in?
Designing around the very successful Trisolina collection in tubogas is definitely something exciting, especially now with the introduction of new branches of the collection, such as Tigella and Timo, and the use of colored stones. Also, two new collections are the very exciting news at Marina B: Triangoli and Triangolini . Both collections are inspired by a Marina design from the eighties based on a geometric way to assemble the triangle shape. Triangoli is a High Jewelry collection made with solid triangular diamonds, which are incredibly difficult to source, making this collection all the more spectacular. Triangolini is an everyday collection with pave diamonds incorporated into a triangular design. Both are flexible, comfortable and very recognizable as Marina B. We are also working on limited edition pieces adapted from the archive, created in lighter materials and precious colored stones.
