Clive Christian × Crosby Studios Event During Milan Design Week

During Milan Design Week 2026, Clive Christian presented the Transformism installation at Museo Bagatti Valsecchi in collaboration with Harry Nuriev and Crosby Studios. The evening brought together a luxury fragrance brand, contemporary design and the historic setting of the museum. My role was to document the space, the installation, the guests and the atmosphere of the event within a focused two-hour photography session.

Session Overview

Client: Clive Christian
Creative collaboration: Harry Nuriev / Crosby Studios
Event: Transformism Cocktail
Location: Museo Bagatti Valsecchi, Milan
Date: 22 April 2026
Context: Milan Design Week
Coverage: Two hours, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm 
Photography: Dmitrii Shmatov

The Transformism Installation

At the centre of the event was a life-size silver chessboard installation conceived by Harry Nuriev and Crosby Studios. The reflective surfaces, sculptural forms and historic interiors of Museo Bagatti Valsecchi created a strong visual contrast between contemporary design and the character of the venue. The first part of the coverage focused on establishing the space before it became crowded, including wide views of the installation, architectural details, product displays and the relationship between the exhibition and the museum interiors.

Guests and Evening Atmosphere

As guests arrived, the focus shifted from the installation itself to the way people interacted with the space. The event photography combined natural guest portraits, conversations, details of the evening and wider documentary images showing the atmosphere around the installation. Working within a two-hour schedule required a concise approach: capturing the important visual elements of the event without interrupting the guest experience or making the photographs feel overly staged.

Luxury Event Photography in Milan

Luxury events during Milan Design Week often require more than straightforward reportage. The photographs need to document the guests and the programme while also preserving the visual language of the brand, the design of the installation and the character of the venue. For this event, the final selection was built around three elements: the Transformism installation, the historic museum setting and the social atmosphere of the evening.