Eleganza Extravaganza: EIC Kenneth Goh Explores Pomellato's Tokyo Exhibition

It’s my first visit back to Tokyo since the pandemic and what a cathartic experience it has been. The familiarity of this buzzing metropolis has not changed. Ascending to the 51st floor of the impressive Andaz hotel in Toranomon Hills, I am met with the polite head nods and crisp efficiency that we’ve come to expect from his incredible culture. 

When I meet Sabina Belli, CEO of Pomellato, the next day for a chat during a press trip for the brand’s exhibition, my very first question is, “Why Tokyo?” Belli responds: “I adore Japan. We decided to bring Pomellato here because Italian culture and our expressions of jewellery design resonate so closely with Japan. There’s an appreciation for Milanese elegance, and of La Gioia, our high jewellery. The exhibition is a journey that travels around different segments and areas, each telling a piece of the Pomellato story linked to one product, and one very symbolic piece of Italian jewellery and design.” 

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I take a walk around Tokyo Jing, the event space that Pomellato has devoted to the exhibition called “From Milan to Tokyo Exhibition: A Journey Through Craftsmanship, Creativity and Design”. This jewel of a box sits at the highest point of Shibuya-ku, right beside buzzing Harajuku. Inside, you are
drawn into the similarities between jewellery design, furniture design and architecture. 

Curated by Alba Cappellieri, Chair of Jewellery Design at Politecnico di Milano, the exhibition explores the themes of Creative Design, the Supreme Mastery of Milanese craftsmen, and the Milanese Elegance of Pomellato’s home city. Cappellieri says, “The exhibition starts from the 1950s with the beginning of Italian design. I selected the Superleggera chair by Gio Ponti for Cassina as the symbol of a new Italy, of new function and also of the ability of the designer to shape new behaviours, exactly like how Pomellato does with the Iconica Collection.” By placing the chair at close quarters with jewellery, it showed how industrial design in Italy has shaped everyday life, from what we wear to what we sit on. 

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The second room is dedicated to another Golden Age of Italian design, the 1970s, with the Proust armchair by Alessandro Mendini. “Colour is introduced into design and especially into our houses, exactly like the Nudo collection did at the beginning of the century,” explains Cappellieri. The third room showcases the Italian design of the new millennium, featuring a lamp by Michael Anastassiades for Flos. “It’s a chain of light which can be combined according to the taste of the person living in the house. It’s exactly like the Fantina Collection by Pomellato that can be customised according to the mood of the wearer,” says Cappellieri. “The last two rooms are dedicated to Milanese elegance, which is a whispered elegance; not so obvious, not so screaming. The first room is a Milanese courtyard that is one of the best expressions of this peculiar Italian elegance, corresponding to some of the icons of Pomellato. And the last room is an explosion of vivid red which signifies La Scala Theatre, which is the temple of Milanese elegance, and thus where Pomellato’s La Gioia is placed.” 

The entire experience offers one such an intimate and soulful discovery of jewellery, Italianism and craft. But like so many brands whose heritage and roots are deeply embedded in the culture and country of origin, how does one capture the attention of a restless Gen Z audience? 

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As a mother of Gen Z children, Belli observes: “At the end of the day, they are not that far from what we were when we were young, and from the generation before us. For Gen Z, the difference is that technology, social media and communications are bringing new conversations to the table. But in our field of luxury and jewellery, we have an opportunity—that is also a duty—to show even the youngest teenager, how magical and how fabulous it is to create high quality products by hand, how we can transform a simple design or concept into a small piece of art in 3D. And if you think about this, I believe you will appreciate our jewellery very much.” 

And how are Singaporeans taking to Pomellato? “I think that the fascinating aspect of Singapore is the high concentration of wealth; people who are used to a very international lifestyle, very well-heeled and very well-travelled. Elegance is definitely a key word for Singaporeans, and that’s what Pomellato stands for. There are a lot of occasions to dress up,” says Belli. “There’s a beautiful mix of multiculturalism that has created an amazing plethora of styles and looks. Obviously, the geography and the weather means that many wear very light, fresh and colourful things. That’s also Pomellato, and it fits in so well with this way of living. And then I also think that there is something very traditional as well in Singapore because you have a lot of old money and old, well-educated families. It’s not all about crazy, rich Asians!”