Barneys New York x VBC: Reframing Italian Textile Heritage for Tokyo
In 2023, Barneys New York marked its 100th anniversary with a capsule collection designed by Pierangelo D’Agostin of PDA. The garments used fabrics from Vitale Barberis Canonico, which was celebrating 360 years of textile production. The collaboration brought Italian fabric into a contemporary Barneys wardrobe.
The retail presentation had a harder job than marking two anniversaries. It needed to show why the collaboration mattered now. From the street, the garments had to command attention and the collaboration needed a visual identity of its own.
RACK contributed the early hand-drawn sketches and narrative framing. Before the final windows were designed, the special project needed an image that could hold together the garments, the heritage behind the fabric and the Tokyo launch.
That first direction came from two natural landmarks. Monte Mucrone carried the atmosphere of VBC’s home in Biella. Cherry blossom placed the scene in Tokyo in spring.
In the sketches, Mucrone stretched behind the garments in black and white. Pink blossom crossed the scene. Italy and Japan were visible in the same window.
Developed in dialogue with Pierangelo D’Agostin and alongside the cinematic language of fffilms.it, the sketches brought landscape, clothing and retail space into the same frame.
Katsuhiko Taniguchi, creative director of Barneys New York, interpreted the concept for the completed installations at the Ginza flagship and Roppongi stores. The windows remained on view for two months, giving the collaboration a sustained presence in both locations.
The finished windows held the capsule collection between Monte Mucrone and cherry blossom. VBC’s textile heritage became part of the retail image, while Barneys gave it a contemporary setting in Tokyo. The collaboration was visible before anyone entered the store.
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