Tailor Made for the Hand

With the launch of the Maranello Clutch, Ferrari is raising the bar in terms of fashion accessories. Technically it is a minaudière, a small handbag with rigid construction, as refined and exquisite as the gold and diamond boxes created in 1933 by Alfred Van Cleef and Estelle Arpels. “It’s also a couture object, crafted in an atelier where uniqueness is cult and culture,” states Rocco Iannone, Ferrari Creative Director since 2019. Indeed, since 1947, Maranello has been home to a Ferrari atelier for cars that undoubtedly embody automotive haute couture.

Above: see the fascinating production process behind the Maranello Clutch…

“Our clutch is made here, too, and by the same artisans who work on the cars’ bodywork,” says Iannone, adding that the production stages are identical. In terms of its design, the bag’s silhouette was shaped after the soft and sinuous lines of the Ferrari Daytona, an automotive masterpiece that epitomises racing spirit and the only car in the world that features what could be called an ‘anatomical’ design. In fact, when seen from above, the car’s bodyshell narrows in the middle, recalling a woman’s waistline tightened by a corset, before widening voluptuously into the upper part and sides. “Indeed, in the workshop just as in the atelier they talk about ‘corsets’, another distinctive element of haute couture,” points out Iannone. “In any case, these soft and sinuous lines also bring to my mind our Prancing Horse – thoroughbreds feature these same sleek curves.”

The Maranello Clutch undergoes the same painting process as the cars, which includes 21 different stages that use cutting-edge machinery and specific colour-mixing recipes to obtain various kinds of hue. Nowadays, Ferrari also uses water-based paints, so that the number of shades is vast for both car liveries and bags, whose interiors are as fully lined in Alcantara as the vehicles’. The lining process is carried out by the upholstery team and, just as with the fitting of metal elements, it all takes place inside the factory.

Above, from left: each clutch is entirely designed, shaped, and handcrafted in the atelier of the Maranello plant, applying the same technologies and artisanal processes used on the cars, from chassis painting to interior finishes

At this point, one might wonder how many styles of bag are produced each year and the answer is, to say the least, surprising: nine models in total, in a colour determined each time by the style office. Iannone explains: “We can produce one or two unique pieces at most, such as the all-over crystal-covered model sold at auction in New York for $100,000 or the one sold for $35,000 in Miami, called Ocean Dream because it’s completely covered with crystals in the various light blue hues of the sea.” Standard models, as it were, feature a seasonal colour chosen by the style office from amongst those in the huge Ferrari palette. Hence, if the clutch is Rosso Corsa one season, it could be Blu Elettrico or Giallo Modena the year after: the same colour is never used more than once. “This is a self-imposed rule and it has unleashed a kind of collection mania,” declares Iannone, adding that one of the most enthusiastic collectors is rapper and record producer Swizz Beatz. Beatz is not the only man who loves to flaunt the Maranello Clutch, now considered a genderless accessory sporting all the characteristics of what’s referred to as ‘Ferrariness’.

Which means it is effectively the first minaudière in history worn – and above all, wearable – also by men. Whereas the Van Cleef & Arpels jewel boxes were created strictly for women. They were famed for their clever solutions to contain every make-up product you needed, a dance card with a tiny pen, a mirror, and occasionally a small watch. The most spectacular models also featured a detachable clasp that could turn into a brooch or hair clip as required. In this case we’re talking about something that Gustav Jung would describe as “imago”: the unconscious representation and prototype of a great desire. Successfully satisfying every desire is part of what distinguishes Maranello.

Above: among the one-of-a-kind pieces, Azzurro Dino and Azzurro La Plata variants were presented with the Miami Capsule in May during the Miami Grand Prix

Which is why in September, the made-to-order service already in place for the brand’s cars will be launched for the bags, too: clients will be able to order colours, livery embellishments and unique interior trim. “In our atelier, there are no limits to personalisation: we’re used to the most incredible requests concerning the cars,” says Iannone. “However, ethical and safety standards – as well as traffic laws – always take precedence over aesthetics. We already know clients will ask us to add their initials somewhere, probably on the plaque. Needless to say, they’ll all get what they want, though that’s the last thing fitted onto the Maranello Clutch: it’s a Ferrari tradition and here some things never change.”

As well as the made-to-order service, September will also see the introduction of the after-sales service, so that if a bag gets scratched clients can send it back to Maranello to have it cleaned, polished and painted, just as with the cars. 'Noblesse oblige'.

Cover image: the painting technique for the bag’s lacquered finish is the same as that used for Ferrari cars