At this year’s Brand Licensing Europe fair Chupa Chups® was the talk of the show. The booth itself was a true art piece to start with. The Rodnik Band designed a tongue-in-cheek scene inspired by Chupa Chups’ creative godfather, Salvador Dalí. This stunning setting became an improvised art installation of mirror-polished surrealist sculptures and shimmering paintings in which the artist elevates the popular lollipop and logo to sheer art with an ironic twist.
On day two, clad in a sky blue lollipop suit, Rodnik went one step further and presented his first catwalk on a tongue with Chupa Chups. The art melted seamlessly with nine stunning ready to wear looks, the walking version of the art pieces embellished with embroidered sequins. After the catwalk Philip Colbert, the showbeast and genius behind the Rodnik Band, dedicated posters of his work to the hundreds of people who came to watch the show. Both the artwork and the ready-to-wear collection created a lot of buzz among the BLE visitors and expectation with premium labels to do exclusive apparel collections and licensing projects that are now being discussed.
The Rodnik Band is a London based art fashion label, famous for its pop style and ironic take on fashion. Philip Colbert, the artist and designer of the art label, is a modern creative visionary who loves to reinterpret the true icons of pop art. On this occasion he has taken Chupa Chups on a surrealist journey, making bold pop Sculptures, paintings with shiny sequins and a sparkling fashion collection inspired by the artistic energy of Chupa Chups.
“Forget the SOUP CAN, the Lolly POP is the ultimate symbol of POP” says Colbert. “I am very excited to collaborate with Chupa Chups, they are the ultimate pop brand, after visiting the factory I was blown away by the world of Chupa Chups, Andy Warhol created an Art Factory, but for me Chupa Chups seemed like the ultimate pop factory, I love the fact this brand connects Pop Art and surrealism with Dali having creating their logo, I was very interested to explore this connection and further develop it with my work” says Philip Colbert, the designer of The Rodnik Band.
“It has been a privilege to have Rodnik reinterpret our brand, he has taken Chupa Chups to a different dimension, opening up new ways for collaborations and creative projects”, says Christine Cool, Area licensing manager of Perfetti van Melle. “Philip’s unique humour and fun approach to pop art with positive vibes are a natural fit with the brand.”
