Italian Design School Creates Miffy Anniversary Project

WildBrain CPLG has teamed up with Italian design school Istituto Europeo di Design (IED Milano) for a fashion project to celebrate the 65^th anniversary of Mercis BV’s character brand Miffy.

The project saw students from design schools in the U.K., Hong Kong, Italy, Mexico and the Netherlands create limited-edition Miffy plush, which are now on display in an exhibition titled Miffy: 65 Years a Source of Inspiration at Centraal Museum in Utrecht. 

“I was delighted to oversee this design project,” says Massimo Giacon, tutor and professor, Istituto Europeo di Design. “The Miffy character is known and loved all over the world, and it was an invigorating creative challenge. My priority was to demonstrate the story behind ‘Miffy’ and emphasize the character’s innocence and magic – harnessing the youthful energy and hope of our students as a lens for the project. Even if in our contemporary world there seems to be no space for simplicity and goodness, actually there is a great need for beauty. The final results created by IED students were so amazing, they inspired me to create my own Miffy designs, and I’m sure all visitors to the exhibition will feel the same type of magic from this adorable character.”

In total, 86 Miffy plush designs were created by the international design students and are now on display at Centraal Museum Utrecht. This includes 20 designs from the 15 students involved at IED, across the institution’s visual arts, fashion, design and communication courses.

“It has been a real pleasure to collaborate with Mercis BV and IED Milano on this project to celebrate young artists and design excellence as part of Miffy’s 65th anniversary,” says Maria Gurrieri, managing director, WildBrain CPLG. “Creative partnerships such as these are an integral part of our strategy for ‘Miffy’ in Italy as we look to build upon the brand’s legacy while also introducing Dick Bruna’s iconic creation to a new generation. We are delighted to see all the fantastic designs the students have created, which are testament to the inspiration Miffy has provided for designers over the last 65 years.”

The designs selected for the exhibition include Miffy in a space suit inspired by the film “2001: A Space Odyssey” and Miffy in an haute couture dress. A compilation of 10 designs from all participating academies, selected by a jury of fashion designers, will form the limited-edition collectible collection which will be made available later this year.