Campari Releases Limited Edition Art Label for the Holidays

Iconic Italian Brand Uses Bold Color Combinations to Give Depero Sketch a Contemporary Twist.

Campari®, the legendary one-of-a-kind red spirit, today announced the U.S. launch of limited edition art labels for 2015, featuring a sketch by Futurist artist Fortunato Depero reimagined with the use of contemporary colors. The trio of limited edition labels reinterpret a sketch of a Campari pavilion designed by Depero in 1933 for an international exposition held in Milan. The three collectible labels arrive just in time for the holiday season and will grace 750 ml bottles at retail stores across the United States beginning in November.

This is the second consecutive year Campari has featured a reinterpreted Depero work. As Milan hosted the 2015 Universal Exposition (EXPO) from May through October, the use of Depero’s work is fitting. Though the original pavilion for the international exposition featured in Depero’s 1933 sketch was never brought to life, a to-scale replica has been carefully preserved to this day in the Galleria Campari at the brand’s headquarters in Sesto San Giovanni, Milan.

Adding to the genesis of the updated Depero design is the announcement of 2015 as International Year of Light [1], a global initiative that highlights the importance of light and optical technologies. It is for this reason that Campari decided to illuminate and add color to what was originally a dramatic, black and white sketch in chiaroscuro style. Campari turned to Italian color expert and consultant Francesca Valan – who collaborates with X-Rite Pantone, the global color authority – to help select the appropriate colors for modernizing the design.

The three new Art Labels were crafted as complementary color schemes to generate maximum contrast, each with its own twist. Orange was matched with cyan (green/blue), magenta matched with lime green, and purple with yellow, all resulting in a standout effect similar to that of a neon sign. Furthermore, the iconic Campari red liquid was taken into consideration as a prominent background color that helps Depero’s futuristic sketch jump out and bring the labels effortlessly into the 21st century.

Thanks to Valan’s collaboration, the three final labels play up the highly saturated color schemes to illuminate the pavilion design in the same way a modern Depero would have were he alive today.

“The new labels are once again a tribute to Fortunato Depero, a truly remarkable artist with long standing links to the brand. The aim of this year’s labels was to reinterpret an art movement in a new and original way as well as pay homage to the brand’s tradition, celebrating its historic artistic connections. Using powerful and striking colors, Campari has added an element of unexpected and intrigue into its iconic brand and thoroughly recognisable bottle.”
– Umberto Luchini, Vice President of Marketing at Campari America

Francesca Valan comments on her partnership:

“I was delighted to collaborate with Campari on the 2015 Art Labels. Fortunato Depero is an artist I have the utmost respect for and it was a pleasure to help bring his design to life, giving it an unanticipated twist. The colors used add a graphic 3D dimension even in small scale. I hope that consumers lucky enough to own one of these limited edition pieces enjoy Depero and Campari’s collaboration as much as I enjoyed being part of it.”