Vittoria Cerretti. Photo: Courtesy of Bulgari
Bulgari has teamed up with après-sport French house Casablanca, founded by Charaf Tajer, to reveal an accessories capsule that interprets the Bulgari Serpenti. The seven-piece collection features colorful prints that feature two unlikely stories: a mosaic and après-tennis story across bags, and even a jewelry box. The series is a continuation of Serpenti Through the Eyes Of, which launched in 2017 and showcases the visions of various design talents like Mary Katrantzou and Yoon Ahn.
Photo: Courtesy of Bulgari
The son of Casablancais parents, Paris-born Tajer – a 2022 LVMH and Andam Prize finalist – shares, “I learned proportions in Paris and colors in Morocco. It’s a mix of both that makes me who I am.” Tajer furthers that his work – largely ready-to-wear pieces made in Italy, and which translate the idea of glamorous après-sport – has a clear direction that leans towards connecting generations. “I want to continue certain heritage and DNA, but I don’t want to make a break between the past and the future. The time of deconstructivism is over. Let’s put it together again. This is the future, in my opinion. We cannot keep going with anarchism all the time. I’m almost an anarchist because I am doing something classic now,” he reflects. A self-proclaimed team player, Tajer shares that Bulgari gave him carte blanche for this collaboration, noting that it was novel to bring tennis into this collection, since the high jewelry house has never had any connection with sport. “I find it interesting to do something new,” he says, recalling the brand’s initial surprise: “A tennis bag for Bulgari?” Yet, “It’s very classic, European style,” Tajer remarks of his pieces. “I don’t always reference Morocco. My collection in stores now is about Japan, the previous one references France. When I go into a subject, I really go into it.” Tajer, a tall man dressed on the occasion for his launch in tennis green and white silk, shares that travel, nature, and architecture are his inspirations. “It can be Memphis Milano or Foujita, a painter in Japan, or the Formula 1 races in the Nineties… I want the younger generation to understand the beauty of the world, and how amazing it is.”
Charaf Tajer. Photo: Courtesy of Bulgari
Originally published in the April 2022 issue of Vogue Arabia
