Culture
Verdi’s “Tree of Life”
This is a stark… and amazingly stunning… departure from typical retail decor.
Image courtesy of: Kriteria
At the center of VERDI’s showroom in Bogota, a handcrafted “tree” made of cooper, fiber, and straw is suspended from the ceiling. This installation is at the forefront of the new showroom which opened recently.
Throughout mythology, a “Tree of Life” has always been present. It stands to connect between the past and the present… at VERDI specifically, the tree symbolizes Tomas Vera’s (VERDI creative director) everlasting bond with his late father. With a legacy that includes building the VERDI brand, Carlos Vera Dieppa started off as a textile designer who developed a technique to interweave natural and copper threads.
VERDI was careful to honor traditional Columbian craft techniques, even though it was done in a completely new way.
Image courtesy of: Kriteria
The tree’s copper trunk emphasizes VERDI’s material identity; and the loose threads further cement its connection to the brand’s signature look. The inner structure of the tree is made from metal and fiberglass. Upon close inspection, you can see that the tree is wrapped with tubes which are made out of copper-woven straw-boning. The leaves are made from pre-spun, pre-dyed fiber.
The tree is further highlighted by the showroom’s simple surroundings and dimly-lit ambiance.
Image courtesy of: Surface Magazine
The idea started when creative director, Tomas Vera took a trip through Mexico in 2013. Inspired, Vera made a rendering which would eventually become the tree’s prototype. Fourteen people worked on the tree for almost five months, weaving and twirling copper around the straw-boning in the trunk, and then sewing the non-spun fibers to the branches in order to create the leaf-like figure.
Cristina Vera and Tomas Vera.
Image courtesy of: Luster Magazine
The Columbian-based Spanish journalist Rocio Arias Hoffman said it best, “Experience, a word so commonly used by marketers worldwide, is an omnipresent notion in contemporary brands. To defy its meaning and to actually make it a reality is a whole other business, and this is exactly what VERDI, local design studio of handwoven luxury is doing today.”
Carlos Vera Dieppa.
VERDI comes from Carlos’ last names, VEra and DIEppa, VERDI.
Image courtesy of: Verdi
The challenge occurred due to the tree’s large scale. Everything was very delicately handwoven, and the sheer size of the tree made getting every detail perfect all the more cumbersome. In order to install the copper wrapping, the top of the tree needed to be cut. At that point, the wrapping was then inserted, and finally all the pieces were put back together again.
The tree seamlessly represents the brand’s three pillars- home, fashion, and art. As important, the tree stands for VERDI’s connection to nature and the family’s ancestors.
