Luxury’s biggest challenge isn’t simply convincing consumers to buy another beautifully made object. Increasingly, it’s persuading them to spend on ownership rather than experience. Hospitality has become fashion’s fiercest rival, entertainment has become retail’s most effective marketing tool and the brands winning attention are those creating communities rather than simply collections.
Few would expect one of the earliest pioneers of that thinking to be a century-old pen maker from northern Italy.
Long before collaborations became fashion’s favourite growth strategy, Montegrappa was pairing exceptional Italian craftsmanship with cultural icons. Batman, Harry Potter, Formula One, Ferrari and now Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining have all become part of the brand’s universe, attracting collectors who may never have previously considered buying a luxury writing instrument. It is a strategy that has transformed a niche category into something much broader, proving that storytelling can be as valuable a material as gold, celluloid or precious resin.
When I sat down with Montegrappa CEO Giuseppe Aquila, our conversation quickly moved beyond pens. We spoke about why provoking a reaction is often a better commercial outcome than playing safe, how fandom introduces entirely new audiences to heritage brands, why objects handed from one generation to the next still carry extraordinary emotional value, and how luxury retail increasingly borrows its cues from the world’s best hotels. We even touched on a confidential hospitality collaboration waiting in the wings, underlining just how closely luxury sectors now overlap.
Our conversation coincided with the launch of Montegrappa’s officially licensed The Shining collection, an extraordinary piece of craftsmanship that captures Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece through intricate mechanical details and obsessive storytelling. Yet, as impressive as the pen itself is, it also illustrates a much larger point: the most enduring luxury brands don’t simply manufacture products. They create cultural artefacts that people want to own because they mean something.
Kate Hardcastle: Montegrappa was collaborating with cultural icons long before it became fashionable. What gave you the confidence to become such an early pioneer?
Giuseppe Aquila: We were certainly pioneers. Our first licensing collaboration was back in 1995, and we were the first pen company to dedicate collections to superheroes, DC Comics, Harry Potter and other areas of pop culture.
I’m a bit of a nerd, so I’ve always been fascinated by different worlds, and because Montegrappa is a family business I had the freedom to bring those passions into the company. Not every idea succeeds, but over time it created a path that is unique, not only in the pen industry but across luxury.
One thing I’ve learned is that when a product creates a strong reaction – whether people love it or hate it – that’s usually a positive sign. If everyone simply thinks it’s “nice”, it may never become commercially successful. Our collectors are passionate, but they’re also a niche. Collaborations allow us to reach people who might never have considered buying a luxury pen. They arrive because they love Batman, Formula One or Harry Potter, then they discover Montegrappa and often stay with us.
KH: Your pens are often bought to mark life’s biggest moments. Why does that emotional connection remain so important?
GA: Pens are linked to life’s milestones. You sign with one when you get married, buy your first home or celebrate an important achievement. Those moments create emotional attachment. We regularly repair pens that are 30 or 40 years old because people want to keep them in the family.
What is fascinating is reading the letters that accompany them. Customers tell us the pen was a graduation gift from their father or belonged to their grandfather. Sometimes they ask us not to remove a dent because it reminds them of a specific memory. It’s not an object people throw away. It becomes something that passes from one generation to the next.
KH: Luxury today is competing as much with experiences as with other brands. How is Montegrappa responding?
GA: Experience is becoming incredibly important. We’ve recently started opening boutiques with our sister luxury brand, Abel Richard, in prestigious locations around the world. They’re designed very differently from a traditional pen shop. Clients are welcomed with champagne, encouraged to spend time trying different nibs, and can sit in comfortable lounges while discovering the products.
It’s a luxurious environment where people experience not only our writing instruments but also our wider lifestyle collection, including leather goods, luggage, cashmere accessories and, most recently, sneakers. The customer experience should reflect the quality of the craftsmanship.
We’re also exploring partnerships with luxury hospitality because we’re speaking to the same audience. The people who appreciate exceptional hotels are often the same people who appreciate beautifully made objects.
KH: Your latest collaboration is inspired by Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. What makes this collection special?
GA: It’s our first pen inspired by a horror film, which makes it especially exciting. It’s also the beginning of a trilogy celebrating three of Kubrick’s greatest works, the next being Clockwork Orange.
Every detail tells part of the story. The cap reveals the Grady twins, the clip becomes the key to Room 237, the elevator opens to reveal blood-red ink, and the barrel incorporates details from the Overlook Hotel itself. We even worked with the actresses who played the twins when unveiling the collection.
Projects like this normally take between 12 and 18 months because every design, every piece of artwork and every element of the packaging has to be approved by the Stanley Kubrick estate. The storytelling is just as important as the engineering.
KH: You’ve worked with Formula One, Ferrari and Lamborghini, but you’ve also explored football. What have you learnt about different fan communities?
GA: We’ve found that automotive collaborations consistently outperform football. Motorsport enthusiasts tend to appreciate engineering, materials and craftsmanship in a similar way to our customers. Carbon fibre, precision manufacturing and technical innovation resonate with the motor enthusiasts.
KH: You supply royalty, governments and world leaders. Do you ever lose the thrill of seeing your pens used for historic moments?
GA: Never. It’s one of the greatest rewards. We’ve created collections for royal families around the world and for international summits where our pens are used to sign important agreements. Seeing something you’ve created in the hands of people making history is incredibly rewarding.
KH: You also hinted that hospitality is becoming an exciting area.
GA: Absolutely. We’re working on projects with some of the world’s most prestigious hotels because we’re serving the same customer. Beautiful objects and exceptional hospitality naturally belong together. Those partnerships allow us to create something that’s more than a product; it’s an experience.
KH: With the choice of thousands of pens, which one do you reach for every day?
GA: I own a very large collection, but the pen I use most is surprisingly simple. It’s our Extra 1930 fountain pen, a design we’ve been making since 1930. Mine is a special solid gold version, but I simply love writing with a fountain pen. After all these years, it’s still my favourite.
KH: Finally, after more than thirty years of challenging convention, what still excites you?
GA: Creating something people haven’t seen before. Whether it’s a collaboration, a mechanism or a story, that’s what keeps me curious. If we can surprise people while staying true to our craftsmanship, then we’re doing our job.
Listening to Giuseppe Aquila, it becomes clear that Montegrappa isn’t really in the pen business at all. It is in the business of memory. Whether commemorating a graduation, signing the purchase of a first home or creating collectible pieces inspired by films that shaped generations, every product is designed to outlive its first owner.
At a time when luxury brands are searching for new ways to remain culturally relevant, Montegrappa offers a surprisingly contemporary blueprint. Heritage provides credibility, craftsmanship creates permanence, but it is storytelling, collaboration and carefully considered experiences that keep bringing new audiences through the door. More than thirty years after becoming one of the first luxury brands to embrace licensed collaborations, the rest of the industry may simply be catching up.