We’ve recently seen that Italian luxury lifestyle brand Tonino Lamborghini has announced plans to launch it’s beautiful new Antares smartphone in the UK. The launch of the luxury phone is the first time that the brand has entered the UK market, and remains a brand that is relatively unknown in Britain.
The trendsetters amongst us may be familiar with the heritage of the brand, famous around the rest of the world for its beautiful and iconic ranges of luxurious products and experiences, including watches, eye-wear, jewellery, clothing and 5-star boutique hotels, to name just a few. So just where did Tonino Lamborghini come from?
To find out more, Luxurious Magazine caught up with founder Mr Tonino Lambroghini, son of Ferruccio Lamborghini – forefather of the famous Lamborghini Car empire, to find out a bit more about his brand and what else we can expect to come from Tonino Lamborghini.
LM: Thanks for speaking with us Mr Lamborghini, can you let Luxurious Magazine readers know what inspired you to start the ‘Tonino Lamborghini’ brand?
TL: I was working with my father for the family business when I felt the need to do something of my own, different from the world of cars and engines. I recognised that I had an famous name that would help me in this venture, but I also had strong ideas, great ambition and flair, which I knew would help me succeed. I really liked brands such as Gucci and Hermès and was inspired by them to create similar products under the Tonino Lamborghini brand. Just like Gucci was inspired by the equestrian world with iconic elements such as a bracket, or bite, I took inspiration from cars and incorporated elements such as the bearing, the piston rod and the suspensions into my designs. I’ve always loved anything that requires mechanical work, because it is related to the world of engineering.
LM: What were and what are, at present, the sources of inspiration for your creative work?
TL: My creativity, passion for design, love for Italy and its culture have always inspired my work. For more than 30 years Tonino Lamborghini has been synonymous with Italian flair. Instantly recognisable, the style of the “Raging Bull” embodies a consummately Italian tradition of elegance, class, defiance and power that has become synonymous the world over with originality and style. The Group’s vision is to bring the passion and spirit of Italy to the global market with unique and distinctive products, inspired by the world of Italian Arts & Industrial Design.
LM: How/why was the decision made to engage in developing mobile technologies?
TL: It’s natural as one of the world’s leading luxury, design and accessory holdings that we are heading further into the direction of mobile technology, one of the fastest-growing and demanded sectors today. Mobile technology is moving so fast and Tonino Lamborghini accepted the hardest challenge in the luxury segment, to marry impeccable design, cutting edge materials and the highest standards in platform technology demanded by our customers, all this at a time when the world is asking for uncompromising excellence in every department. We believe that the new Antares, and the pipeline of new products that we will bring to mobile and tablet category, achieves this blend of design, craftsmanship and perfectly matched technological specification will be viewed uniquely.
LM: There is big competition in the mobile technology market. What’s new / innovative that Tonino Lamborghini can offer the consumer?
TL: At Tonino Lamborghini we pay attention to design and technology, it is in our blood. Therefore we created a range of phones, starting with Antares, that look incredible, match craftsmanship and cutting edge materials with the world’s best loved mobile platform, Android. Tonino Lamborghini phones are targeted at the young, successful and self-confident. Those who are far from being stereotypes, preferring a unique style through sophisticated Italian design but most of all do not compromise on functionality and specification.
LM: Are there colors or shades that you prefer, to use in your creations?
TL: We always use colours that identity with our brand, such as black, red and white. For the more sporty models, we also use colours that evoke the automotive world, that resonate with luxury, vintage and modern sports cars. The choices are made based on the research of new technologies, of new materials, and especially through my strong and unique will to explore new combinations.
LM: Tell us more about your activity in the hospitality area, especially in the Middle and Far East markets?
TL: Our hospitality project aims to create boutique hotels, restaurants and lounge cafés with a common concept of the values of the brand. On June 2012 I opened the ‘Library Boutique Hotel’ in Shouzou, one of the cities with the highest economic development of China. After this first 5-star hotel, at the end of December 2012 we’ve also opened the ‘Tonino Lamborghini City Center Hotel’ in Kunshan, in the Jiangsu province about 60 km from Shanghai. These openings are part of the agreement signed last year with the Join-In Group, listed Company in Shanghai, for the opening of Tonino Lamborghini 5-star hotels with brand in South-East Asia (China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Japan). The purpose is to recreate many ‘Lamborghini Houses’ in ASIA in the near future in Asia in the purest style of the ‘charging Bull’.
Of course our priority markets are the Far East and the Middle East, but we are also considering some interesting proposals in India and Brazil, while Russia is already one of our premium market especially for watches, sunglasses and mobile phones. We are studying the Italian market, with all obvious difficulties with the help of international operators to find a perfect synthesis between our image abroad and our roots.
LM: Finally, are you satisfied with the results you have achieved and, in particular, is there anything you would make in a different way?
TL: Even following the great successes achieved I can consider myself satisfied: surely we’ll continue on this double-line, on one side more sporty collections with a strong mechanical-automotive imprint, on the other side limited editions and lady-collections with a higher target and rather sophisticated, without losing the brand identity that distinguishes us since 30 years all over the world. My collaborators know that I am a perfectionist and I’m never satisfied with the results achieved, both in economic terms and also in terms of design. But when a model is finally launched, it becomes something that belongs to me and my history and as such it becomes untouchable.
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