#Industry News
A “made in Florence” collaboration between Officine Gullo and Aquazzura
Luxury artisanal creations merging design and fashion
A collaboration between Andrea Gullo, Director of Officine Gullo, and Edgardo Osorio, founder and Creative Director of the Italian luxury footwear brand Aquazzura, unites the world of fashion with that of design.
The meeting led to the creation of a tailor-made kitchen for one of the Osorio residences in an exceptional location: Palazzo Corner Spinelli, on the Grand Canal in the San Marco district of Venice. The residence dates back to the end of the fifteenth century and is characterized by architecture that is representative of the transition from the Gothic to the Renaissance in Venetian art, evidenced by the façade on the canal.
An Officine Gullo kitchen was installed on the first floor in Osorio’s apartment, tailor-made by the designer, his residence and his brand. Upon discovering Officine Gullo, one of the aspects that most struck Edgardo Osorio was the richness of the colors and the attention to detail curated in Florence. A turquoise kitchen with nickel finishes was created for him. The cooking appliances and refrigeration at professional performance level fit perfectly into the environment, characterized by a striped painted parquet floor and hand-decorated walls. Exotic animals, flowers and brightly colored trees recall motifs of fine 18th-century Chinese porcelain and transport the observer to an exotic garden and to distant places, as Osorio tells us:
“The initial idea for the kitchen came about after visiting Villa Necchi in Milan. In the villa, there’s a room that features a hand-painted winter garden and I immediately fell in love with it. I always wanted to create a kitchen that resembled a living room and to do so I retrieved botanical drawings from the 18th century from which I drew inspiration for the trees and plants I wanted to use, mixing the flora of different seasons of the year.”
Osorio’s creativity was supported by Officine Gullo’s tailoring, following the designer’s wishes by forming a one-of-a-kind kitchen just as the Creative Director of Aquazzura had imagined:
“During the renovation of my new home in Venice, I was looking for a special kitchen that was truly unique. I’ve never been a big fan of kitchen environments and for this reason I wanted to design one where spending time was a pleasure. I wanted to reproduce a winter garden that was filled with color, animals, and trees from different seasons of the year. The walls are all hand painted and Aquazzura’s iconic logo, the pineapple, is featured in the doors and knobs for a whimsical and personal touch. Creating this means the kitchen has truly become the heart of my home.”
The environment was designed based on Edgardo Osorio’s specific needs, to accommodate special moments spent with family and friends:
“I’m used to organizing many private events and occasions, and my kitchen is often used for dinners and lunches with friends who come to visit me in Venice. Gullo kitchens are beautiful, colorful, full of unique details and handcrafted in Florence. For this reason, it was important that the first project for Aquazzura Casa was to be carried out with a company that could create an extraordinary kitchen environment that above all shared our values.”
Although belonging to different sectors, Officine Gullo and Aquazzura share common values in their constant search for beauty and perfection in details, a signature of Florentine craftsmanship. Andrea Gullo tells us:
“I had the pleasure of being introduced to Edgardo by mutual friends, but I was well aware of the success of his women’s footwear brand. I immediately appreciated the high-quality details and the unmistakable elegance of his creations. Both of our companies currently boast a presence in the main international capitals and our respective customers want almost the same thing: unique products capable of fully responding to the indispensable needs of functionality and style.”
