BIANCA BOSATRA
BIANCA BOSATRA
IL PELLICANO X HIGHSNOBIETY
Capsule Collection Launch
ROLE: Senior Marketing Manager | Content & Activations
CLIENT: Il Pellicano & Speedo
LAUNCH DATE: June 2025
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Hotel Il Pellicano celebrated its 60th anniversary with an exclusive capsule collection partnering with Highsnobiety, launching June 11, 2025. The legendary Tuscan hotel on Porto Ercole's golden cliffs, founded in 1965 and acquired by Roberto Sciò in 1979, collaborated with Highsnobiety to create wearable tributes to Italian dolce vita.
The partnership extended beyond product, including a weekend celebration at the hotel with invited guests, talent, and press, positioning both brands at the intersection of hospitality, fashion, and lifestyle culture.
CAMPAIGN STRATEGY & EXECUTION
Hospitality as Fashion Statement
Il Pellicano represents a specific lifestyle. By positioning the collection as capturing the hotel's 60-year essence (bougainvillea, Tyrrhenian blues, terry cloth, aperitivo culture), we made it desirable to people who may never stay there but want to embody that aesthetic.
Experience Before Product
Inviting guests to experience the hotel first created authentic ambassadors. Rather than launching product cold, we let talents and press live the Il Pellicano experience over a weekend. Their organic content (sunset aperitivo, pool lounging, disco ball party) became the campaign. This approach made the collection feel like an insider's secret rather than mass merchandise.
60th Anniversary as Cultural Milestone
Anniversary moments provide built-in narrative. Instead of framing this as 'new merch drop,' we positioned it as commemorating 60 years of cultural influence. Marie-Louise Sciò's quote 'I talk about it as if it's a person' captured the hotel's living legacy, making the capsule a tribute rather than a transaction.
Multi-Platform Distribution Strategy
Launching simultaneously on Highsnobiety platforms, ISSIMO (Il Pellicano's platform), hotel boutique, and Berlin flagship created multiple entry points. This wasn't about exclusivity but accessibility, meeting customers where they already shop rather than forcing them to a single channel.
CHALLENGES
& SOLUTIONS
AVOIDING GENERIC HOTEL MERCHANDISE PERCEPTION
The design approach emphasized materials and aesthetic codes over logos. Terry cloth evoked poolside lounging, Mediterranean colors captured the environment, subtle branding maintained luxury positioning. Marie-Louise Sciò's involvement ensured the collection honored the hotel's identity rather than exploiting it.
BRIDGING HERITAGE HOTEL AND YOUTH CULTURE BRAND
Il Pellicano's audience skews older legacy guests, while Highsnobiety speaks to youth culture. These audiences don't naturally overlap, creating a tension in messaging and positioning.
Solution: Rather than trying to make Il Pellicano 'cool' or Highsnobiety 'luxurious,' we leaned into aspiration. The campaign positioned Il Pellicano as an aspirational lifestyle younger audiences could access through the capsule. The talent attendance (Jack Antonoff, Haider Ackermann) bridged demographics, respected by older audiences, relevant to younger ones. This made the collaboration feel like a cultural conversation across generations rather than a demographic mismatch.
COORDINATING WEEKEND EVENT DURING SIMULTANEOUS LAUNCH
Running a multi-day hotel activation while coordinating a global product launch across multiple platforms created logistical complexity. Guests needed attention, content needed capture, and launch needed execution.
Solution: I structured the weekend so the hotel experience preceded the launch. Guests arrived, lived the Pellicano experience, and created organic content Thursday-Sunday. The June 11 launch came after, allowing their content to fuel the campaign. Guest content existed before the collection dropped, creating anticipation rather than launching cold.
