MANILA, Philippines - The Candy Bag — the Boston bag launched by Furla last season which immediately became a bestseller and an icon of the brand’s innovation and creativity — is now the linchpin for new experimentation. It has evolved from a series of special editions in highly original materials, including the super-trendy version in rubber and python-print calfskin, to an interpretation by the artist Sissi. The latter has developed the “Candy-brissima” project, also known in fashion as a creative “hybrid,” and presented the “Changeable-Identity” installation-performance. The brand’s values are thus embodied: unmistakable Italian style, a passion for art, wonder and irony as essential sources of inspiration.
The Furla collection for spring-summer 2012 is a rich travel diary filled with visual and tactile notes on the Mediterranean and Italian tradition. The colors of nature. The blue of the sky, the black and white of rocks and pebbles, the warm earth tones such as honey, red, and yellow, with gold and silver accents. The materials: bull hide, vintage-effect leather, coarse salt-and-pepper canvas, as well as reptile skin and materials of high-tech inspiration such as neoprene.
Amid a natural, bright atmosphere, the Candy Bag takes center stage with a series of special editions, including the highly distinctive rubber Boston bag with python-print cowhide trim presented in a fresh, lively turquoise. It is an all-Italian creative game that continues with other versions featuring bold juxtapositions and a combination of technology and traditional craftsmanship: rubber and wicker in perfect La Dolce Vita style, rubber and ostrich-feather boa worthy of the red carpet in Venice, and rubber and super-light aluminium, riveted like the fuselage of an airplane.
The Candy Bag is also at the center of the “Changeable-Identity” installation-performance. It is an initiative that expresses Furla’s desire to constantly experiment with new solutions and new forms of artistic expression. The bag, reinterpreted by the artist Sissi, becomes a hybrid of styles and allusions: “Candy-brissima,” in perfect accord with the philosophy of the artist, who sees fashion as a perpetual blend of personal emotions.
In the performance, Sissi stages a sort of ultra-creative production line: Four people work together to assemble various elements that she designed earlier. Each one features different materials, colors and details that express a specific style and state of mind that the artist has categorized with fantastical names. When they are combined, an incredible gallery of Candy-brissima bags comes to life. Unpredictable, unique pieces. Genuine works of art.
In the Philippines, Furla is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI) and is located at Greenbelt 5, Rustan’s Makati, and Shangri-La Plaza Mall.