Making Magic: Inside Rainbow’s Home Fairy Home exhibition

Last month saw Rainbow kick off its Home Fairy Home exhibition in Milan, in partnership with Regione Lombardia. The initiative saw Rainbow team up with design students from Italy’s Politecnico di Milano and the Poliarte Academy of Fine Arts and Design institutions to ‘reinterpret the domestic universe’ through a Winx Club-inspired lens.

As well as working with students, Rainbow also partnered with internationally renowned artists like Boris Dondè, Emiliano Edera and Giulio Menossi. In addition, the exhibition also housed creations from Italian licensees including Villevenete, Slide Design, Pozza and Insulti Luminosi.

Each piece reinterpreted the identity and personality of characters from the animated series, transforming them into concepts and objects related to different areas of the home. The work from students was impressive and varied… Ilaria Mulazzani and Sofia Santoni created a laptop stand inspired by Flora, the nature fairy, that looks like it’s made from sprawling vines.

Meanwhile – in a nod to Musa, the fairy of music – there’s a coat rack that resembles like a keyboard. Guilia Rossetti and Erica Mazzarini designed a blender with a handle that resembles Bloom’s fairy wings, while another group crafted a boot-shaped vase inspired by Stella.

“We love having fun with our brands!” said Lorena Vaccari, VP of Global Marketing at Rainbow. She added: “Along with our partners at Politecnico di Milano and the Poliarte Academy of Fine Arts and Design, we thought the idea of bringing Winx Club into the domestic environment could be a fascinating area for the students to explore. The fact the exhibition ran during Milan Design Week – well, that’s very impactful. It became a celebration of Winx and Italian design.”

NOSTALGIA BY DESIGN
Many of the students taking part grew up with the original Winx series that debuted in 2004… Something that only added to their passion for the project. “It was like a dream for us!” said student Sveva Chiantia. Meanwhile, Giulia Zozzi told us: “I designed objects around the character of Stella – and being a fan, I knew the character well already… That helped during the design process.” Fellow participating student Leonora Fischer added: “I watched Winx when I was younger, so I had this nostalgic feeling throughout the project. It helps you realise that you still feel connected to it.”

Mirko Aliota told us: “I focused on items in the home that lack ‘fairyness’ – so I designed items like the bathroom mirror and the turntable… It was a way to bring magic into everyday life.” Elsewhere, fellow design student Emanuele Barchiesi said: “My team was inspired by Flora and we tried to express the essence of the character through items like a teapot, utilising shapes that evoke buds. It brings up about ideas of self-care and feelings of calm…”

Students worked under the coordination of professors Luca Fois of Politecnico di Milano and Michele Capuani from Poliarte. Together, they explained why this connection to the brand was vital… “These characters and stories are part of the student’s backgrounds,” said Michele Capuani, Professor at the Poliarte Academy of Fine Arts and Design. He added: “They were excited because the connection to this brand is deep. What’s interesting here is that they’re designing through that nostalgic lens, but also designing for consumers and clients… Designing for the future, with inspiration from the past.”

Luca Fois, Professor at the Politecnico di Milano, continued: “We always want our students to create something new… Utilizing this brand was a great way to unlock a degree of creative freedom for them. One interesting element here was that the students are designing for themselves. They’re now the target market for some of these items.”

This connection – felt by a generation that grew up with Winx – is not lost on Rainbow when it comes to licensing ambitions. As Matteo Olivetti, VP of Licensing at Rainbow, tells us: “The great thing about this brand is that Winx fans remain Winx fans. It has a nostalgic appeal to young adults, to Gen Z, who grew up with the brand – and we’ve seen great results at this exhibition because these students are so attached to the brand. That’s the power of Winx.”

CREATIVE CONTROL
Giving a brand over to design students isn’t something that appeals to all brands… So what made this right for Rainbow? Exhibition curator, Dario Gulli, explains: “For IP to grow and evolve, it must be free to evolve in the hands of creators – controlled and managed, but left in the hands of the creators.” Gulli added: “This is the genius of Mr Straffi – he recognizes this and encourages it.”

Iginio Straffi is the creator of Winx Club, and Founder and CEO of Rainbow. He told us: “Winx has been always about creativity, innovation and originality. It’s useful for everybody – including the brand – to be able to inspire new artists and utilize their creativity to get new ideas around making our homes and lives happier and more beautiful. I always embrace and support companies that are willing to invest in innovation; those who retain the DNA of the brand but do something totally new.

“We get this kind of inspiration every day – because every day we’re bombarded, in a good way, by fans who send to their Winx creations to us. And some of these fans even transform their passion into a real business. One company created these jewels inspired by Winx, so we showcased them on social media… They became so hot they managed to start a business around it. We also have some Roblox-inspired games produced by our fans which are beautiful – we embrace creativity.”

Matteo Olivetti, VP of Licensing at Rainbow, added: “Creativity is vital for Rainbow. We’re Italian – the home of creativity – and we always allow licensees to reinterpret the brand and add value their side. We know the brand, and they know their product and demographic. Of course, products should align with the values of the brand, but we always want licensees and partners to reinterpret it.”

Michele Capuani, Professor at the Poliarte Academy of Fine Arts and Design, also feels brands have lots to gain by embracing the creativity of students. He told us: “When you work with students, there are three stakeholders: the students, the professors and the brand owners. The students and the professors learn a great deal, of course, but brand owners can expect a lot of creativity, new ideas and fresh design thinking. That’s very important when it comes to keeping brands relevant.”

PARTNER POTENTIAL?
Speaking of licensees, they – and potential partners – also formed a key aspect of the exhibition. Villevenete, an Italian furniture specialist, created sofas inspired by the Winx fairies Flora, Bloom and Stella, while lighting company Insulti Luminosi had several playful pieces on display.

“The sofas are stunning – and there’s a chance they now become something Villevenete can offer to the public… Let’s wait and see,” said Lorena Vaccari, VP of Global Marketing at Rainbow. Rainbow’s VP of Licensing, Matteo Olivetti, added: “It can sometimes be difficult for a licensee to understand how to interpretate a brand that was aimed at a young audience – especially for a category like homeware. So to see these designs and these concepts… Hopefully it can prove inspirational. That’s a goal.”