Cristina Celestino
Serapian
Cristina Celestino, architect and designer, opened her studio in Milan in 2013. After graduating from Venice’s IUAV School of Architecture, she worked with various design studios, focusing on interior architecture and design. In 2011, she created Attico Design. The activities of Cristina Celestino and her studio range from residential to hospitality and commercial projects, as well as creative direction and product design.
Her work has appeared in major publications, including a mention several years running in the AD 100 Best Designers selection, Domus, Elle Decor, Wallpaper, AD, Ideat and Vogue. In 2016, she was awarded the special jury prize at the Salone del Mobile furniture fair, and the Maison & Objet award in 2022 for “Best Designer of the Year”.
Serapian, founded by Stefano Serapian in 1928, is one of the oldest leather Maisons in Milan and still one of the city’s best-kept secrets. Located in the centre of the Lombardy capital, the brand’s Bespoke Atelier is overseen by Giovanni Nodari Serapian, the third generation of the founding family. Serapian is known to the Milanese as a leather Maison with impeccable design and craft credentials. Throughout its history, Serapian has had close ties with artists and artisans, such as Giorgio de Chirico and many in the world of architecture and design. Serapian represents the discreet and precise taste of the Milanese, the beauty that very often has to be discovered. Milan is indeed a city to be discovered, full of secrets: behind the apparently austere façades, one can often admire entrances made of marble, mosaics and even beautiful gardens.
The well-known Serapian Secret Bag was made with Milan as inspiration. This iconic model was commissioned by a Milanese customer who wanted a bag with a hidden pocket. The story goes that it was to hide a photograph of her lover or her letters. Serapian’s signature technique is Mosaic, first developed in 1947 by Stefano Serapian: strips of lambskin nappa are delicately woven by hand by expert artisans to create a graphic pattern with a fluid and light appearance that is a true hallmark of the Maison. The nappa strips used for the Mosaic technique are available in a variety of colours, from classic white to more vibrant.
