The art of writing meets fashion and transforms it into artwork: this is the aim of the ambitious Montblanc project, which involved NABA’s Visual Arts students in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the iconic Montblanc Meisterstück fountain pen.
From September 19 to 23, 2024, in the heart of Milan and amidst the lights and energy of Milano Fashion Week—the ultimate fashion event—Montblanc transformed Piazza San Babila and its boutique on Via Montenapoleone into spaces of creativity and experimentation. The contribution of NABA students played a key role, blending rich artistic expressions with inspirations and languages from the fashion world, resulting in a one-of-a-kind collective artwork.
The locations that brought the project to life
For five days, the renowned Maison opened the Montblanc Kiosk in Piazza San Babila—not just an exhibition space, but an immersive experience inspired by the short film created by award-winning director Wes Anderson to celebrate the Meisterstück’s centenary. Drawing on the director’s unmistakable aesthetic, the Kiosk became a small film set with retro charm, pastel colours, refined details, and an atmosphere suspended between past and future. Here, writing was revealed in its most intimate and artistic dimension, becoming the unifying thread of a collective experience open to everyone.
The Montblanc Kiosk
The kiosk created by Montblanc, where NABA Visual Arts students unleashed their creativity, welcoming numerous visitors
Inside the Montblanc Kiosk, NABA students welcomed the many visitors strolling through central Milan and guided them in creating small fashion-inspired artworks using a variety of writing tools and materials: Montblanc Meisterstück fountain pens, markers, pencils, chalks and much more. Each visitor was able to leave their mark, contributing ideas and suggestions which the students transformed and integrated into unique visual compositions.
Are you a company interested in collaborating with NABA?
Contact us here!
In parallel, another group of NABA Visual Arts students worked inside the Montblanc boutique on Via Montenapoleone 27/b. The larger space allowed them to create more complex and detailed artworks. Here, the focus was on precision and aesthetic exploration, leading to more elaborate creations.
Montblanc provided NABA students with an initial brief but gave them complete creative freedom. The result? A mosaic of unique works, each with its own stylistic identity, united by a shared vision of writing as a form of visual art.
NABA students bring the Montblanc store to life
As part of the initiative, NABA Visual Arts students also created stunning works inside the Maison’s store on Via Montenapoleone
“The art of writing interprets fashion”: the collective typographic composition
All the artworks created in Piazza San Babila and at the Via Montenapoleone boutique were later collected and interpreted by internationally renowned calligrapher and artist Luca Barcellona, resulting in a unique collective piece: a typographic composition titled “L’arte dello scrivere interpreta la moda” (“The art of writing interprets fashion”), where every line and stroke expresses the spirit of Milan and its deep connection to creativity.
The work stands as a visual tribute to the world of fashion, a vital element of Milanese identity—a city fuelled by colour, diversity, creativity, eccentricity, and elegance. The lettering, designed to highlight the collaboration with NABA Visual Arts students, blends diverse graphic languages: the unexpected, subversive forms of urban graffiti-writing are intertwined with Lombard capitals, inspired by the decorative letters of 16th-century manuscripts that flourished in Lombardy after the Gallic and Lombard invasions.
“L’arte dello scrivere interpreta la moda”
The visionary typographic composition created by Luca Barcellona using artworks made by students at the Montblanc Kiosk and the Via Montenapoleone store
The most distinctive element of the typographic composition—donated, once completed, to Milan’s Fashion and Design Department to ensure it would have a “future life”—lies in the structure of the letters themselves: each character became a container for details drawn from the students’ artworks. A visual mosaic bringing together techniques, visions, and inspirations, offering a portrait of the city through the eyes and emotions of those who live it every day.
The Montblanc initiative, developed in collaboration with NABA and under the patronage of the Municipality of Milan, offered students and visitors alike the opportunity to reflect on the many creative possibilities of putting pen to paper. It rediscovered the beauty of the act of writing and created a dialogue between fashion and handwriting—two worlds long united by a deep connection.
