No other brand in the world of watch-making is more committed to the modern concept of design than Rado itself. The minimalist style, the attention to trends, and the culture of innovative materials form the basis of the vision of the brand from Legnau; the forerunner of many of the innovations in the world of watch-making that all modern brands take full inspiration from.
Rado is well-known across the world and could be easily compared to what brands like Artemide or Lema represent in the world of luxury furniture-making or even to what a Wally would represent among luxury yachts. It is no coincidence that Rado is a cross-brand, and the undisputed protagonist of events such as the Salone del Mobile; a show that involves all types of designing and that offers a variety of events and stimuli to anyone who revolves around this universe.
The “Rado Star Prize” is the practical contribution of Rado to the development of designing in watch-making as a subject that is inspired by related fields, otherwise known as “cross–fertilization” – as stated to our microphones by Andrea Caputo -. He is the VP Marketing of the brand that has paved the way for ceramic to enter the industrial world and thus enable its further development and diffusion.
Fostering cross-fertilization means being a philanthropic organization and developing projects that allow young talents to express themselves in projects related to the future of our society; this is the idea that has involved 40 young people from three different designing areas of the Marangoni Institute – the think tank of international designing that is based in Milan and that collaborates with Rado on joint projects.
These young people were asked to imagine the future in 100 years’ time and three of these young people reached the final stage of the competition; an event that was held at the Institute’s headquarters on April 6th, and where the audience could see live the projects exhibited. The exhibition was named “2117 – The world of Fashion & Design in 100 years” and it featured important guests and speakers.
Among the speakers at the “Rado Star Prize 2017” were Massimo Zanatta (Director of the Marangoni Design Institute), Giulio Cappellini (Jury Director and Art Director of Cappellini Milano), Hakim El Kadiri (Product Development Manager at Rado), Paolo Meroni and Livia Peraldo Matton; a member of the Higher Education Academy of Marangoni and the Managing Director of Elle Decor Italy, respectively. The trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort was also part of the group; her books and lectures, just like the one held in Via Cerva, anticipate global trends and are carefully studied by many companies around the world with the goal to develop in advance brand and product strategies.
Lidewij Edelkoort was probably the most prestigious guest at an exhibition that saw young Mijal Lebel win the coveted award within the “Best Interior Design” category thanks to her “Cellular fabric” design, which is able to grow by itself and reproduce itself too. Mijal won a 5,000 euro award and a Rado watch; a Rado True Thinline to be more specific, one of the best examples of “hyper–minimal” design (as I personally like to call it).
During the exhibition, held inside the venue that hosted the “Rado Star Prize 2017”, some of the brand’s iconic collections and tangible examples of the work Rado has been carried out with several international designers, and collaborations that have produced original and avant-garde watches; a topic that Andrea Caputo explained in our video-interview and something that he had anticipated during Baselworld 2017 too.
Watches like the Rado True Phospho – the result of a partnership with the Swiss design studio “Big Game” – or the Rado True Stratum – created by the Austrian designer Rainer Mutsch – are something more than simple watches with which Rado intends to mark milestones in the world of designing and communication, not just in the world of watch-making.
The “Rado Star Prize 2017” has seen a tremendous success among the audience and it was an interesting experience for Horbiter® too; our chance to extend our horizons to experiences and projects that are not only limited to the world of watch-making and something that will see us more and more involved in in the near future.
(Photo and Video credit: Horbiter®)
Gaetano C @Horbiter®
