RESIDENZA 725: Creation as constant dialogue
Credits
INTERVIEW Julia PietschIMAGES Residenza 725
The historic Italian luxury retailer COLTORTI has revolved and transformed into RESIDENZA 725, creating a nomadic and meta-dimensional cultural hub where fashion, art and culture are in constant dialogue. RESIDENZA 725 was born from the idea of creating a physical and metaphysical space in which to shape a true creative outpost, where the act of creation is no longer the offspring of a unidirectional but a biunivocal relationship between brand, retailer, customer and community. For this reason, RESIDENZA 725 does not limit itself to occupying exclusively the physical spaces of the historic stores in Ancona, Pescara, San Benedetto del Tronto and Macerata or the online space, giving birth to RESIDENZA725.COM. This new concept of a cultural outpost wants generate real temporary autonomous zones, creating several residences in different European cities – from Milan to Venice to Copenhagen, from Palermo to Vienna – in a billboard of events aimed at constantly and erratically expanding RESIDENZA 725’s presence in the world and in society. In an interview, Art Director Licia Bonesi shares the dreams and visions behind RESIDENZA 725, discussing their innovative business strategies and unique approaches to integrating fashion and art.
Julia Pietsch: First off, let us introduce RESIDENZA 725 – what is the vision & concept behind it?
Licia Bonesi: The concept behind RESIDENZA 725 is rooted in the timeless human quest for a place to truly call home, a destination where one’s authentic self can flourish. RESIDENZA 725 offers an open, creative, and welcoming space that encourages exploration and transformation. It is designed as a territory that defies conventional directions, embracing nonconformity and celebrating the richness of diversity.
To quote Hakim Bey, RESIDENZA 725 is a liberated space-time: a unique environment where individuals can freely express themselves without constraints.
J.P.: How has the COLTORTI business model been transformed into RESIDENZA 725 and what challenges and opportunities are associated with it?
L.B.: The luxury experience is no longer spendable in a mere action of transaction, and it needs to be thought back in a radical way.
While our business model has been expanded in the field of publishing, event production and art curatorship, our core business has not changed. Purchase can be the most powerful act of self definition. More than a mere retail space, RESIDENZA 725 is the cultural hub transcending common commerce functions, engaging its audience on a different level: with culture, and purpose. RESIDENZA means “Residency”, and to the world of art residencies it recalls and belongs.
J.P.: To what extent does RESIDENZA 725’s omnichannel strategy contribute to creating an active and circular shopping experience?
L.B.: RESIDENZA 725’ s omnichannel strategy is at the heart of the project.
The concept of Omnis (which is Latin for every/all) perfectly matches our raison d’être: existing as an outpost infinitesimally replicable everywhere and at any time. This is the principle that rules the creative direction of the four Residencies located throughout the regions of Marche and Abruzzo, and the one located in Via della Spiga 7, Milan: an house that we open for artist takeovers, events and for our service of fashion conciergerie. In addition there is the e-commerce www.residenza725.com, which is now contaminated with our own editorial project. The idea is that what you can live in real life, you will also find online, and viceversa. In this way customers will find themselves absorbed in an ecosystem that they themselves will help to build up, as some act of creative participation.
J.P.: How do customers become co-creators of the shopping process?
L.B.: Embracing the concept of nomadic republic, customers at RESIDENZA 725 contribute to a community that wants to turn the ephemeral and the fleeting perennial. Their interactions and feedback are woven into the fabric of the space, making the transient perpetual.
RESIDENZA 725 invites customers to explore and transform their shopping experience. This open and welcoming space encourages individuals to discover new possibilities and reimagine their relationship with products and brands.
In essence, customers become co-creators of the shopping process by immersing themselves in a space that values exploration, nonconformity, and the free exchange of ideas. At RESIDENZA 725, their participation transforms shopping into a collaborative and ever-evolving journey.
J.P.: How does RESIDENZA 725 integrate artistic and cultural elements into the shopping experience, and why do you think this integration is important, what customer experience do you want to convey?
L.B.: RESIDENZA 725 encourages the integration of diverse cultural and artistic expressions. Let us remember that culture is a matter of paticipation rather than possession, and so are luxury and fashion. With this regard we are committed to using our medias as platforms for creatives of all kinds.
In this sense RESIDENZA 725 is a universe built to empower true involvement, which is manifested through monthly events sponsorships, filantropies, pop-up & custom windows, partnerships with brands, unexpected collabs, and more.
J.P.: Why did you decide to limit the event and exhibition to just three days and what effect do you hope this will have?
L.B.: The exhibition was an open invite to see what was left from the dinner performance, transmitting the same soundscape inspired by the Amazonian forest used during the dinner and the table left untouched. 3 days were sufficient to keep the the post dinner energy without turning the event into a museum-like-exhibition.
J.P.: A central project is the residency of the artist Luca Trevisani, what inspired you to do this and how do his artistic principles fit into this concept?
LINGUE TAGLIENTI was only the final step of a beautiful journey.
When we first walked into Luca’s studio in Milan to meet him we immediately recognized the potential greatness for a multi-layered collaboration. Then his artistic sensitivity made the collaboration very natural. First our partnership with Marsèll for the production of Ai piedi del pane, a sculptural work part of the series that challenges our notions of technology and progress. Then the dinner performance in our space using his knives from the series Del taglio.
J.P.: Luca Trevisani’s artistic practice encompasses numerous disciplines. How do these different forms of expression influence each other in his work?
L.B.: Luca Trevisani’s artistic practice is as eclectic and heterogeneous as are his influences. His references range from Primo Levi to Stanisław Lem, from Cristina Campo to Robert Smithson, and interweaving philosophical and artistic reflections with a unique experimental approach, that is often translated in his works into the manipulation of raw materials.
As he puts it in our interview: “Working with natural materials means working with an indefinite cloud of energies, in which we discover a principle of order that sleeps in us, around us, and in the world.”
J.P.: How does Luca Trevisani’s dinner performance reflect the relationship between nature and culture, and what messages does he want to convey through this production?
L.B.: Luca Trevisani’s residency concluded with a banquet that dramatized the clash between nature and culture, using sculptures that symbolized nourishment and transformation. This event featured an unreal kitchen and a participatory process that redefined the concept of raw materials. The audience was uniquely engaged, taking on the unprecedented roles of witness, celebrant, and collaborator.
In his words: “Sculpture is not an object to possess or a dominion to exercise, but a performative narrative, an unresolved and uncomfortable dialectic, contradictory and restless. It a tool for coexistence, sharing knowledge to establish unexpected relationships and promote a participatory and sensorial knowledge of the world.”
J.P.: Finally, what is the future development of RESIDENZA 725 and what themes or concepts would you like to explore further?
L.B.: The future development of RESIDENZA 725 is anchored in its commitment to being a liberated, creative, and inclusive space. By exploring these themes and concepts, we aim to continually evolve and inspire our visitors, making RESIDENZA 725 a beacon of cultural and artistic innovation.