Lucia Silvestri, creator of Bulgari: “With the film “Inside the Dream”, we want to show the work behind the jewels”

For the first time, a high-jewelry house, Bulgari, agrees to host cameras to tell the incredible story behind its exceptional collections. “Inside the Dream”, screened at the opening of the Toronto Film Festival, is available in more than a hundred countries and on Amazon Prime and Canal +. We met the artistic director of this legendary Italian house. From the first images, on a very successful soundtrack, we let ourselves be taken to Venice, in the cozy room of a palace, where Lucia Silvestri, artistic director and buyer for Bulgari for more than 30 years, reveals to Zendaya the Serpenti Hypnotic necklace that she will wear on the red carpet of the Mostra. The culmination of a very long journey for this incredible piece, with a cabochon cut in a 93.83-carat emerald and curves set with diamonds and emeralds. “Inside the Dream” retraces, in one hour, his long epic. We follow Lucia Silvestri, traveling the world to obtain the precious stones to give life to the pieces of her dreams. Treasures carved under his close creative supervision, to adorn the handles and necks of superstars around the world. We discover Zendaya, Priyanka Chopra, Lisa de Blackpink, Chiara Ferragni and each famous ambassador, opening “the” box. Suspended moment where, under Lucia’s moved gaze, the last splendours of the brilliant designer appear. Meeting with Lucia Silvestri, the jewel of Bulgari. ELLE: You are incredibly creative, constantly renewing your inspirations for 30 years. Do you always have your creations in mind before looking for stones? Lucia Silvestri: Always, that’s my golden rule. I started my career as a buyer for Bulgari over 30 years ago. At that time, I didn’t have the cap of artistic direction, but I heard Mr. Bulgari repeat: “You never buy a stone without already knowing what you want to do with it. We can change our minds, but we will at least know that we can use it that way. We do not buy a stone simply because it is beautiful, or rare. “. So since very young, I had to develop my creativity even before seeing the stones. SHE: “Inside the dream” retraces the story of an exceptional jewel. Why did you think it was important to show the making-of of your work? Lucia Silvestri: The idea came from the producers, Terminal 9, who came to us. They wanted to show that jewelry is not only sublime, but that there is work, a history, a heritage, a philosophy behind it. It was a real experience, because we didn’t follow any scripts. All situations were spontaneous and natural. Anyway, I’m not an actress and I wouldn’t be able to. I didn’t want to play. I have a lot of trouble seeing myself on screen. SHE: In this film, we discover your travels to find the most beautiful stones. We feel deep ties, even friendly ones, with your partners in the four corners of the world…Lucia Silvestri: We see in the film Vicky, in India. I was already working with his father, and his grandfather, 30 years ago. So we know this family intimately, we have very strong bonds of trust. You can’t see everything in the film, but I spend a lot of time discussing with him the ideas I have in mind for directing how the stone should be cut. That’s something quite new and I’m very proud of it. SHE: Yet it took you decades to convince him to break his impressive 4 kg emerald which was used for the cabochons of the Serpenti Hypnotic necklace from the Magnifica collection? Lucia Silvestri: Yes, for years they refused to touch it. In India, the mentality is very different. It was not the moment “. However, I dreamed of large cabochons carved in this sublime emerald, we did not have any in the collection. You can’t imagine the number of phone calls, meetings, visits to India that I had to multiply for years to succeed in convincing him. SHE: The marriage of colors is Bulgari’s signature, what specific emotions do you get from each stone?Lucia Silvestri: I can’t put an emotion on a stone, because I really feel too many of them. It’s a blast. Faced with a stone, I am at the same time happy, intrigued, excited, dreamy, admiring…. I am never jaded, I even find it difficult to stop working when I am launched. ELLE: How would you describe your style to us?Lucia Silvestri: My style, I would say, is to maintain the signature, audacity, color and creativity of the House. To create jewelry that makes women confident. Create for women who wear our creations because they find them beautiful, and not for the “show-off” aspect. Personally, I love to mix the genres of pieces from different styles and from different eras of the Bulgari collection. Play with mix and match. You can wear jewelry in very different ways, and express your personality, your style. SHE: We see you working directly for Zendaya, Priyanka Chopra, Lisa from Blackpink… On what criteria and values ​​are your ambassadors chosen? Lucia Silvestri: I am not directly involved in the choice of ambassadors, but the first criterion is that they love Bulgari. They are always feminine, modern, hard-working, creative, color-loving women. Women who correspond to the values ​​of Bulgari. ELLE: Is it essential for you to know them personally before creating what they will wear on the red carpet? Lucia Silvestri: No, because I don’t design with celebrities in mind, but with Bulgari in mind. But I need to meet them when I show them the jewelry. To see their reaction, their emotion when they wear them, the way they embody them and the reactions they provoke. SHE: In the film, the Bulgari muses say they feel stronger with their Bulgari jewelry. What is, according to you, the power of the stones? Lucia Silvestri: I would not speak of power, but rather of energy. I never feel tired when working on the stones, it has always amazed me. I firmly believe that these are gifts of nature. These stones have been buried for millions of years, it is obvious that they give off energy, an extremely positive energy.”Inside The Dream” available on Amazon Prime and Canal + since September 13.