On the occasion of the Milano Design Week 2025, Creative Academy proposes the exhibition Magician, a collection of glass creations, conceived by the students of the Richemont design school and shaped by the Master Craftsman Simone Crestani. A project realised thanks to the support of Cartier.

Creative Academy presents Magician, a collection of sixteen design objects, conceived and designed by the young students of the design school of Richemont and made of borosilicate glass by the Master Craftsman Simone Crestani.

The Maison is pleased to collaborate with Creative Academy and to share the brief “Cartier Magician” that serves as a guiding framework in the creative journey of the students.

Magician tells an anthology of experiences imbued with mystery, accumunate by the fascinating feeling of estrangement from reality. Moving away from the simplest and fairytale connotation of the term “Magic”, the designers of Creative Academy have invented new objects, or redesigned the lines of some already existing ones, to enhance their suggestive element.

In this kaleidoscope of interpretations, the “Magic” assumes original forms such as a set of paintbrushes, presented as the artist’s magical tool to escape from reality, or a diving mask, that symbolises the sparkling feeling of freedom that we feel when we push ourselves beyond our limits with success.

A mirror with an unusual egg shape invites the observer to rediscover his identity, a fluid image between his inner and outer perception. A set of coffee cups, developed as the vertebrae of a human spine, embodies a traumatic experience of the designer, who has crystallised in this project his willpower, a magical force that helped him overcome physical pain.

Creative Academy’s Master of Arts in Design and Applied Arts prepares young talents to enter the world of luxury as jewellery, watches and accessories designers. In the context of this exclusive postgraduate programme, each year the School organises a project aimed at promoting synergies between emerging designers and Masters of Art on the occasion of the Milano Design Week. The dialogue between these creative figures is one of the fundamental values underlying the Master and for this edition the artworks on display have been developed under the supervision of the Master Craftsman Simone Crestani, who welcomed the students into his Atelier and engaged in a dialogue with them to turn the most fascinating ideas into design objects.

Simone Crestani is considered internationally as a luminary in both the plastic arts and the design world. Using his particular technique of the “Scultura Cava” (“Hollow Sculpture”), the Master Craftsman creates large-scale works in borosilicate glass, at the same time meticulously detailed in their decoration. Each object is a unicum.

The artworks are highlighted by an engaging staging, curated by the creative duo of interior designers Domenico Rocca and Alberto Nespoli of Eligo Studio. Walking through a metaphorical path, the visitor reaches a dreamlike dimension, in which the works seem to transcend the physical limits of reality. As in a magnificent game of prestige, we witness the complete reversal of the architecture of the Triennale, the height of the spaces is multiplied and the objects seem suspended in a surrealist atmosphere, in balance between reality and imagination.

To enrich the experience of visiting, the same creators of the works will be present in the exhibition spaces to accompany the visitors. A unique opportunity to discover the creative process behind the realisation of the object.

Building upon its legacy of fostering artistic expression, Cartier is honoured to collaborate with the Creative Academy program for Milan Design Week 2025, entrusting them with a bespoke brief designed to ignite creativity and celebrate the enduring spirit of savoir-faire.

For this Design Week 2025, Cartier asked the students of Creative Academy to work on the concept “Cartier Magician,” an inspiring theme that served as a guiding framework for participants in their creative journey. This invitation encouraged young talents to explore the essence of magic through the lens of Cartier, a universe where meticulous craftsmanship converges with daring creative vision, resulting in creations that both enchant and surprise.

The participants masterfully interpreted the magic of Cartier through their unique artistic sensibilities, translating the Maison’s ability to transform matter into emotion, emotion into compelling forms, and thought-provoking concepts. Their work captured the intangible, gave form to illusion, and elevated objects beyond mere function, transforming them into symbols of dreams and wonder.

Cartier is delighted with the outcome of this collaboration with the Creative Academy during Design Week 2025, a testament to the power of nurturing emerging talent and exploring new frontiers of creativity. The participants embraced the challenge with remarkable enthusiasm and originality, delivering unique and precious interpretations of the magic of Cartier that will resonate deeply with audiences.

About Creative Academy

Creative Academy is the Corporate Design School founded in 2003 by Richemont, specialised in the design of jewellery, watches and accessories. The school offers the Master of Arts in Design and Applied Arts, a postgraduate course that each year trains twenty young creative talents coming from around the world. With a concrete approach and a faculty made up mostly of leading figures of the Group (CEO, Creative Directors, etc.), the Master, which has a total duration of ten months, allows students to learn and practice for seven months in Milan and then it offers the most deserving students the exclusive opportunity to conclude the training course with three months of internship in one of the creative studios of Richemont. The didactic program is developed through specialised seminars, design projects and constant interaction with the Richemont Maisons, which include brands such as Buccellati, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Vhernier, A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin, Alaïa, Chloé, Delvaux, dunhill, G/FORE, Gianvito Rossi, Montblanc, Peter Millar, Purdey, Serapian, TimeVallée and Watchfinder & Co.

www.creative-academy.com

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