Campari Soda and Kappa have teamed up to create The Authentic Aperitivo, a capsule collection of streetwear pieces that reflect Italian identity and the lifestyle typical of our country through the vision of two iconic brands. We spoke with Andrea Carveni, also known as @mutencrew, the creative mind behind the design of this capsule collection. We discussed the origins of the project and, above all, what these two brands represent from both a graphic and, clearly, Italian perspective.

Gli elementi della capsule collection

Starting with the clothing, the foundational idea for this capsule collection stems from Kappa® Authentic’s Spring Summer 2024 line. In this context, the need arose to integrate influences suggested by Campari. «Designing this capsule meant communicating, through visual elements, two historic Italian brands that, in design and sportswear (not to mention lifestyle), have been innovative for our country,» Carveni explains, highlighting his focus on the heritage of both brands. The collection features Fortunato Depero’s 1927 bottle design for Campari Soda (which went into production a few years later), alongside Kappa’s iconic “banda,” instantly recognizable at first glance.

«From here, we created a concise yet effective slogan, ‘The Authentic Aperitivo,’ which reflects the brand identity of both labels: Kappa’s authenticity from the 1990s, when it led the trends of the time, up to today, and the aperitivo moment that Campari Soda has successfully embodied in an image well-known to Italians since the early 20th century as a time for social connection and leisure,» Carveni continues.

Another interesting and profound aspect of this partnership is how—despite coming from diametrically opposed contexts—the two brands have managed, over their histories, to make us feel “at home while away from home”. It’s a priceless value that is more difficult to communicate than it might seem.

This brings us to the core of Carveni’s creative process, where he explains how he crafted the co-branded graphics: «The two silhouettes of the Kappa symbol, originally turned away from each other, are mirrored, looking directly into each other’s eyes, with the Campari Soda bottle serving as a connecting element between the two figures». The iconic Kappa logo, for those unfamiliar, originates from a spontaneous photograph of two models (not posed) taken in 1969.

This brings us to the core of Carveni’s creative process, where he explains how he crafted the co-branded graphics: “The two silhouettes of the Kappa symbol, originally turned away from each other, are mirrored, looking directly into each other’s eyes, with the Campari Soda bottle serving as a connecting element between the two figures.” The iconic Kappa logo, for those unfamiliar, originates from a spontaneous photograph of two models (not posed) taken in 1969.