Between Poetry & Form — Inside the Design Process of MARK / GIUSTI Luxury Leather Bags
Inside the Creative Studio of MARK / GIUSTI in Milan
At the House of MARK / GIUSTI in Milan, founder Mark Farhat Giusti presents Between Poetry & Form, an installation offering a rare glimpse into the fragile and unfinished moments behind the creation of his handcrafted Italian leather bags and accessories.
Rather than a polished display, the space feels suspended in time. A desk mid-research. Leather swatches laid out for testing. Paper models folded and revised. Hardware examined for weight and balance. Books open and stacked along the walls. Notes and fragments of poetry resting beside prototypes.
It is an honest portrait of the studio before resolution — where ideas for luxury Italian leather bags inspired by mosaic art and architecture first begin to take shape.
Giusti has always approached design as an act of research. Each collection begins long before leather is cut — in libraries, in archives, in architecture, and in cultural memory. His process moves between structure and intuition, discipline and controlled disorder.
What appears raw is deliberate: an organised chaos that allows form to mature naturally.
New Mosaic Patterns Inspired by Architecture
Central to this collection are three newly introduced mosaic patterns, each rooted in architectural heritage and translated into handcrafted Italian leather bags and accessories.
The first draws inspiration from the Basilica di San Marco in Venice — a study in sacred geometry and layered ornamentation. Its rhythm and repetition are translated into leather through refined embossing, echoing the quiet grandeur of Byzantine mosaics.
The second references a Roman villa in Somerset near Witney, a reminder of the reach of classical art across Europe. The pattern reflects the dialogue between Roman craftsmanship and British heritage, bridging geographies through shared visual language.
The third element is deeply local: handcrafted in Porta Venezia, within Giusti’s Milan atelier. Here artisans work entirely by hand using traditional techniques to produce luxury Italian leather bags made in Italy.
Each stitch is visible, intentional, and patient — reinforcing the brand’s commitment to preserving Italian leather craftsmanship and vegetable-tanned leather traditions.
Together these elements connect Venice, Roman Britain, and contemporary Milan, uniting centuries of artistic heritage through design.
Perfect Imperfection in Contemporary Luxury Craftsmanship
The installation embraces fragility.
Giusti intentionally reveals the behind-the-scenes aspects of his studio — the testing, revisions, dismantling, and rebuilding required to develop each luxury leather bag and accessory.
Creation is not immaculate. It evolves. It carries memory.
The philosophy of “perfect imperfection,” influenced by the Japanese art of Kintsugi, quietly underpins the collection. Rather than conceal the human hand, the work allows it to remain visible within the geometry of the design.
In doing so, MARK / GIUSTI celebrates craftsmanship not as perfection, but as a living process shaped by time, patience, and the maker’s hand.
Writing Before Design
For Giusti, design is inseparable from writing.
Poetry often precedes product. The Arkinsugi poem included within the installation reflects this intimate connection between words and objects.
Books line the back of the space — architecture, history, sacred geometry, art theory, and cultural studies. They are not decorative elements but part of an ongoing intellectual dialogue.
Research is foundational. Reading is ritual.
Giusti’s work sits at the intersection of East and West, past and present, preserving mosaic heritage while reinterpreting it through contemporary Italian leather craftsmanship.
Between Poetry & Form is less a collection launch than an invitation into the studio itself — a moment captured before the final cut, before structure settles completely.
It is where fragility becomes strength.
For Press Inquiries
Press@markgiusti.com
Key Dates:
Installation Runs until April 15, 2026
