There are “mini bags,” and then there are minaudières that refuse the very premise of practicality. With Carrying Culture, BVLGARI’s Icons Minaudière Collection frames the evening bag as a precious objet d’art—a piece meant to be contemplated as much as carried. Inspired by 140 years of creativity, the collection revisits five emblematic BVLGARI symbols and translates them into sculptural clutches that sit right on the boundary between jewelry-making and accessories.
The concept is unusually literal (in the best way): each minaudière contains a miniature book, conceived to fit the bag’s silhouette and written by one of the campaign’s five women—each chosen to embody not just an icon, but a value attached to it: strength, transformation, wisdom, allure, and identity. In other words: these are bags engineered to hold a story, not a screen.
The campaign ambassadors
Rather than treating these minaudières as just red-carpet accessories, BVLGARI frames the launch as a cultural casting: five women from five different creative worlds—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Linda Evangelista, Kim Ji-won, Isabella Rossellini, and Sumayya Vally—brought together to embody the collection’s five values (strength, transformation, wisdom, allure, and identity).
The storytelling is deliberately physical: each minaudière is paired with a miniature “Notes on…” book authored by one of these women and engineered to fit the bag’s exact silhouette, making the object feel like a portable archive rather than a container for essentials.
Visually, the campaign is built with the same “objets d’art” sensibility: photographed by Ethan James Green with creative direction by Ferdinando Verderi, it stages the bags as jewel-like artifacts—designed to refuse phone-sized utility in favor of intention. The narrative is anchored by a symbolic dinner in Rome with the five protagonists, reinforcing the idea that these icons aren’t only motifs to wear, but a language to carry.
The five Icons, rewritten
Serpenti, Monete, Tubogas, Divas’ Dream, and BVLGARI BVLGARI have long been shorthand for the Maison’s visual language. Here, they’re treated like a set of cultural signatures—reinterpreted through contemporary construction (aluminum/brass structures, enamel work, gemstone inserts, mother-of-pearl intarsia, and exotic leather) while staying unmistakably BVLGARI.
Price spectrum: Minaudière vs Minaudière Mini
(Prices in USD as provided; luxury pricing can shift seasonally.)
- BVLGARI BVLGARI Minaudière — $16,900 / Mini — $9,250
- Serpenti Minaudière — $14,100 / Mini — $8,450
- Divas’ Dream Minaudière — $20,900 / Mini — $10,700
- Monete Minaudière — $18,600 / Mini — $11,100
- Tubogas Minaudière — $19,200 / Mini — $9,900
1. BVLGARI BVLGARI Minaudière
If one piece in this series reads like modern Roman design distilled, it’s BVLGARI BVLGARI. The silhouette is sleek and cylindrical, crafted in gold-finished aluminum and brass, then elevated by intarsia mother-of-pearl inserts—a technique that feels quiet at first glance, but becomes intensely luxurious up close. The iconic double-logo engraving acts like a frame: less about shouting a logo, more about engraving a lineage.
It’s finished with a chain for hand-carry, a single compartment lined in black nappa leather, and a press-button closure accented by a mother-of-pearl element—a small detail that reinforces the “jewel-object” reading.
A refined objet d’art, the minaudière is accompanied by a specially designed miniature book, “Notes on Creating Culture” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, perfectly designed to fit its shape.
2. Serpenti Minaudière
Serpenti is BVLGARI’s most cinematic icon—synonymous with transformation, seduction, and power—and this minaudière leans fully into that mythology. The silhouette is shaped as the signature snakehead, crafted in gold-finished aluminum and brass, then brought to life with hand-applied enamel scales in a striking palette: emerald green, feroza turquoise, perla white, and black. The eyes are dark emerald crystal, turning the face into a focal point that feels almost alive.
A Cobra chain—snake-body inspired—finishes the piece for hand-carry. Practicality exists, but only in the most minimal, formal sense: one compartment, black nappa lining, and a press-button closure. The point is sculptural presence.
The accompanying book is “Notes on Honoring Tradition” by Linda Evangelista—a sharp, emotionally intelligent pairing for an icon that is constantly renewed without ever losing its essence. Serpenti doesn’t just symbolize transformation; it demonstrates how heritage can evolve while staying unmistakable.
3. Divas’ Dream Minaudière
Divas’ Dream has always been BVLGARI at its most lyrical—Rome refracted through glamour—and here it becomes a fan-shaped minaudière inspired by the mosaics of Caracalla. The structure is crafted in gold-finished aluminum and palladium-finished brass, then ornamented with a rich, jewel-toned composition: dark amethyst, light amethyst, tiger eye, mother-of-pearl, dark malachite inserts, and sparkling zirconia pavé.
The effect is mosaic-like without being literal: color and shine arranged the way tesserae catch light—fragmented, deliberate, alive. A hand-carry chain, black nappa lining, and press-button closure keep it in the minaudière tradition: compact, precious, ceremonial.
Its book, “Notes on Cultivating Inner Calm” by Kim Ji-won, adds a beautiful counterweight to the bag’s sparkle—wisdom as a quiet kind of luxury, carried under the arm.
4. Monete Minaudière
With Monete, BVLGARI returns to one of its most intellectually sensual codes: the romance of the ancient world, translated into modern adornment. The silhouette is octagonal, crafted in gold-finished aluminum and palladium antique-finished brass, and centered with a Roman-coin-inspired centerpiece—a recreation framed by hand-applied red enamel and crystal silver-colored zirconia stones.
That red enamel isn’t just decoration; it functions like punctuation—turning the piece into a statement even in an all-black look. The closure echoes the palette with a red crystal element, and the interior remains deliberately minimal: one compartment, black nappa lining, press-button closure, plus a chain for hand-carry.
The miniature book is “Notes on Listening to Nature” by Isabella Rossellini—a thoughtful match for an icon rooted in time, material, and observation. Monete feels like the most “museum object” of the five, but it’s engineered to be carried, not displayed.
5. Tubogas Minaudière
Tubogas is technique turned into signature—an icon that signals craftsmanship before you even name it. In this collection, it appears as an egg-shaped minaudière wrapped in refined black lizard leather, with a sinuous Serpenti Tubogas element in gold-finished brass coiling around the body. The serpent detail is “lit” by zirconia accents on the head and tail, giving the piece a jeweled tension: sleek leather, gleaming metal, pinpoint sparkle.
It’s finished with a rounded chain for hand-carry, a press-button closure, and a single compartment lined in black nappa leather—formal, compact, intentional.
The book pairing is “Notes on Finding Home” by Sumayya Vally, which subtly reframes Tubogas: not only a craft technique, but a metaphor for continuity—how something can be shaped, coiled, and formed into belonging.
Tubogas Minaudière Mini
The Mini variation is described in silver pearl lizard leather, keeps the coiling Serpenti Tubogas element and zirconia accents, and adds an internal mirror—a small but telling detail: even the most “object-like” version still acknowledges the rituals of an evening out.
Care & preservation
A minaudière that merges enamel, crystal details, metal finishes, mother-of-pearl, and exotic leather deserves the same mindset as fine jewelry: protect it from abrasion, keep it separated in storage, and stabilize it so the silhouette stays flawless between wears. If you treat it like an heirloom from day one, it will age like one.
