Giant Easter Eggs meet High Fashion | Chocolate Easter Eggs from Bompiani, Rome
The latest fad in eggshells – on a chocolate Easter egg. Haute couture’s extravagant fashion designs inspired Walter Musco, a confectioner in Rome, to create sixty giant Easter eggs based on pieces by big-name fashion designers. Colorful zig-zags are a familiar pattern by the Italian Miss oni Fashion House. A tribute to Karl Lagerfeld.
A chocolate corset in the style of French fashion maven Jean Paul Gaultier. And, an egg inspired by British designer Alexander Mc Queen: a skull to sink your teeth into – by Walter Musco. “We used tempered fudge chocolate and molding chocolate for the roses. Then we added gold leaf that’s edible at 24 degrees Celsius. It took four to five days of work, and the finished piece weighs seven kilos. It was extremely difficult to reproduce the cranium’s anatomy.”
The time and effort put into these unique items are reflected in the prices – ranging from 150 to 500 euros. In the heart of Rome, near the Colosseum, Walter Musco consults a fashion-maker friend for advice on his latest Easter egg collection. Designer Luigi Borbone recommends this lady’s jacket trimmed in rhinestone. “Here you can see how I laid out the geometric patterns. They’re arranged like the ancient Roman mosaic floors. The color combination is also striking. Here, we have gold- and black- and gray stones.
I’ll use cocoa butter and make the egg cream-colored here, as well.” Walter Musco has his workshop in south Rome. The base for this creation is an egg out of white chocolate. To make the stones, Musco uses Isomalt sugar substitute. The confectioner also studies designs by great 20th-century couturiers for ideas for his chocolate sculptures. Among others, the avant-garde concepts of Spanish fashion designer Cristobal Balenciaga have drawn his attention.
Throughout history, fashion hasn’t always been tailored the human body in practical ways, but turned into genuine artworks. We’ve also succeeded in eliminating the anatomical shape of the human body as well as the original shape of the egg.” Walter Musco and his confectionery team have been at work on the Easter egg collection for weeks. The strips are afixed to this egg by spraying on frappéd white chocolate – afterwards, a color coating is applied.
We use natural coloring. But it’s hard to mix them to produce new colors. They’re just pigments dissolved in alcohol. Then we brush the eggs like a painter would to create lines and decoration or whatever we need.” The confectioner has come up with something special for every Easter since 20-11.
This year, the theme was fashion, but he also finds inspiration in architecture, film and literature. In 20-13, he took his subjects from Early Modernist art. For many Christians, Easter is the year’s most important festival. Tourists come from around the world for the celebrations on St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. Eggs are a part of Easter. They stand for the resurrection of Christ.
Fashion models decorate the window of this sweets-shop – for Walter Musco’s unveiling of his exquisite giant Easter eggs. Their humor and beauty are a departure from Easter’s somber religious overtones. Luigi Borbone’s design is also on display. “I think the their work is fantastic – the way my research has been integrated here: the couture of the 1950s, like my grandmother first taught to me.
They’re wonderful and one of a kind – real artworks.” “They’re very delicious, but even nicer tolook at.” “These Easter eggs are great. Let’s hope for another surprise next yearand that it turns out just as good.” Whichever fashion designer served as the muse,Versace, Paco Rabanne or Dolce and Gabana, Walter Musco’s creations prove that eggs can be a fashion statement.
