Flights of Fancy

The late Isabella Blow would have approved. The blue-blooded Blow was known for her fashion — particularly her hats — and is credited with launching the careers of haute couture icons including the late Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy, who creates the distinctive hats of choice for female members of the British royal family. Blow made a cameo appearance in the Wes Anderson film The Life Aquatic, starring Bill Murray. Like all Anderson films it is distinguished by vivid colors and materials, much like the clothes, hats and shoes of Blow herself.

That’s where elevators come in: Working with CaberlonCaroppi studio of Milan, Italy, Italian lift company IGV Group drew inspiration from Anderson for the first Pop Up lift, the second series in its Ad Hoc line. Belle Epoque, writes IGV, “is dreamlike and elegant, expressing a clear reference to the poetics of Wes Anderson’s films.” Also on offer is Golden Age, “inspired by old black-and-white films, where there was a ‘lift boy’ who accompanied guests to their floors.” This design is characterized by geometric wallpaper, mirrors and metals. Home Sweet Home conceives a “more intimate space, as if the inside of the elevator were a sort of foyer,” with wood paneling, mirrors, frames and a sofa. These fully customisable designs succeed in transforming a product characterized by “anonymous and excessively standardized production,” according to IGV CEO Michele Suria, into “an integral part of the architectural project from both a structural, formal and design point of view.”