“The recent Middle East political instability directed our attention to the region's most stable country that boasts a fast growing and healthy economy,” explained President of Dorchester Estates Mohamed Kabbani.
Trusting the sensitivity of his navigated collaborators in the world of interior design, Cerruti chose the Kingdom to continue his design venture after an experience in Lebanon and opened Saudi Arabia’s first Cerruti Baleri showroom on Dec. 10 at Jeddah's Al Khayat Center under one of the Dorchester International group subsidiary, Makeen Trading.
Members of the Saudi and foreign community, Saudi dignitaries and journalists attended the event and caught the opportunity to meet Cerruti personally and discover the creative touch that a fashion designer can bring to the conventional and functional world of traditional design and interior decoration.
“Going from fashion to design is a normal extension of entering into the life of people. These activities represent two means to generate emotions and invent beauty in the space that surrounds us,” explained Cerruti.
Since the foundation of House Cerruti in 1967, the stylist launched various collections and fragrances, designed clothes for important Hollywood actors and worked as the official designer for the Scuderia Ferrari. After being in the textile and fashion business for many years, he became, in 2004, a major shareholder of Baleri Italia, a company founded in 1984 to manufacture high quality furniture.
Baleri’s design experience and Cerruti’s artistic taste gave birth to a unique company that collaborated with successful designers such as Alessandro Mendini, Angelo Mangiarotti and Denis Santachiara, but also discovered new talents including Jeff Miller, Maurizio Galante, Arik Levy, Ilse Crawford, Alberto Colzani and Xavier Lust.
“I can’t give you an estimation of how successful our collection will be in the Kingdom even though I start from the philosophy that creating refined and high quality products represents sooner or later a guarantee of reward. Saudi Arabia is considered a happy island. My desire is to be on the top of the wave in an emerging country that enjoys a very favorable situation within the general market,” explained Cerruti.
Some of the pieces from the 2011 Cerruti Baleri Collection were exposed during the store's opening event in Jeddah. Entering the showroom, guests were welcomed by a humorous and comfortable “Canapé Cactus” designed by Maurizio Galante for Cerruti Baleri and other fancy poufs, ironically resembling stone balls, to furnish different spaces of the house (Galante and Tal Lancman Tatoo collection 2011).
The showroom also displayed poufs from Denis Santachiara and Enrico Baleri's Tatoo Collection; Enrico Baleri's “Bristol” sofa, Jeff Miller's “Obo” multifunctional and innovative shelving system; Maison Martin Margiela's “Emmanuelle” armchair and unconventional and ironic “Sbilenco” table; and Miller's “Flipt” lounge chair, which when needed, becomes a chaise-longue, forming an elegant wave thanks to a hidden hinge mechanism.
“Artistic work should enable people to enjoy beauty. Ugliness is part of our world and can be represented creatively, but I don’t see the need of indulging in it. I’m for what is beautiful and makes people smile, look and feel better. This is the way I give sense to my work,” said the stylist.
The collection shows Cerruti’s predilection for products combining utility, humor, elegance and creative innovation like Margiela’s “Groupe,” a sofa composed by chairs and couches of different periods and styles united by a white linen; Leonardo Perugi's “Drop," an armchair or sofa, which converts into a day-bed/lounge chair; Miller's “Bloom,” a practical and stylish wooden coat hanger with eight arms that can rotate around a central stem; and “Bentz,” a table with a base structure in aluminum and a glass top.
Although unable to predict the appreciation and potential expansion of Cerruti Baleri’s brand in the Middle East, the stylist relies on the growing number of people within the consuming society that are looking for a better, more refined and less compulsive way of consuming as a key to a healthier and more serene lifestyle.
