Cloudy Butterflies, the collaboration between world renowned supermodel Claudia Schiffer with Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro, has hit retail.
Cloudy Butterflies is the name of the collection, which first launched at Maison & Objet in Paris, for the partnership with both Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro.
Vista Alegre’s collection consists of three pieces in art glass – one centre table vase, one high vase and one low vase – while there are eleven Bordallo Pinheiro pieces – one giant wall piece, two further wall pieces in smaller dimensions, a vide-poche, one cake plate, two vases, one box, one fruit bowl and two salad bowls, decorated with butterflies in several colours.
The art glass pieces from Vista Alegre and the Bordallo Pinheiro oversized pieces will be produced bespoke for each customer, available on demand in stores and shop online. Both collections require a high level of technical execution and a lengthy handmade process. The vases in particular are produced using the complex “incalmo†technique, frequently used in the Middle Ages. Demonstrating the mastery of the brand’s glassmakers, these pieces, in addition to being blown and handled without a mold, present the added difficulty of hot-melting the various colours horizontally without mixing them.
An avid art collector with a self-confessed love for design, Claudia Schiffer has long been a great fan of the brand. “I was given my first Bordallo Pinheiro piece years ago by my Portuguese friends Carlos and Filipa, who for my birthday gifted me the cheese platter with grey mice sitting on it. I’ve since collected nearly everything Bordallo have made and decided to confess my love and ask them to bring my ideas to life. The collaboration with Vista Alegre then followed on naturally from this.â€
The inspiration for the creation of Cloudy Butterflies, the designer adds derives originally from her upbringing. “Growing up near the Rhein, Germany, surrounded by the countryside, I often drew inspiration from nature, such as butterflies and clouds. With this in mind when I developed the vases for Vista Alegre, I chose naturalistic colours that really explored that sense of bringing nature into the home. For the ceramic pieces, I opted for a more detailed and decorative design in the figurative style of Bordallo Pinheiroâ€.
For Nuno Barra, managing director of Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro, “the partnership established with Claudia Schiffer is an important contribution to the international expansion of the two Portuguese brands as global references in creativity and lifestyle. Above all, it is an honor to collaborate with a world-renowned fashion icon like Claudia Schiffer, who assimilates our brands into her daily life, making them her ownâ€.
The managing director adds: “Vista Alegre and Bordallo Pinheiro have been developing a unique work in innovation, design and art over the last decade, reaching the highest level of the sector in a global context. This partnership with Claudia Schiffer strengthens the positioning of excellence of the brands and leverages its continuous international growth, alongside longstanding collaborations with other major brands such as Christian Lacroix Maison and Oscar de la Renta, among othersâ€.
In its 2020-2021 edition, the prestigious German Design Awards have awarded a Special Mention to the art glass vases of Cloudy Butterflies.
