During Milan Design Week 2016, Veuve Clicquot, an audacious and innovative Champagne House, chose the unconventional creativity of Fabrica, the communication research centre of the Benetton Group, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of its first design invention, which revolutionised the méthode champenoise: the table de remuage — forerunner of today’s riddling table — where the bottles are tilted and turned to obtain a clear, pure wine. This celebration pays homage, above all, to the passion, intelligence and determination of its inventor Madame Clicquot. Widowed at 27, she took over the reins of her husband’s business, becoming one of the first female entrepreneurs of the modern age.

With BEYOND — The Veuve Clicquot Journey by Fabrica, visitors were drawn into an exploration of real and imaginary landscapes, in an exclusive setting that epitomises the concept of the journey, which open its doors to the public for one day only on April 14th, set inside The Royal Pavilion of Milan Central Station.

“Veuve Clicquot is a House that has always explored new horizons and which uses design to optimise its competencies and unique nature” — explains Sam Baron, creative director of design at Fabrica — “Fabrica embraces, celebrates and projects the essence of this unique French company into a new world of future expectations. From the simplicity of a gesture at the traditional ‘table de remuage’, an invention that enhances the champagne’s flavours, to the countless stories from the world of bubbly, Fabrica offered a unique experience, where visitors were stimulated on different levels. Physical interactions and emotional involvement in a hypnotic melee of sculptural, visual and digital citations.”

From the depths of the abyss to the majesty of a starlit universe, by way of the stunning chalk caves of the Champagne region, BEYOND used experiences, performances and sounds to tell the fascinating tale of Veuve Clicquot, a brand that surprisingly looks to the future while respecting its traditions.

Inspired by the visionary Madame Clicquot and her bold desire for exploration, the three environments contained installations recalling the places, moments and facts that have made Veuve Clicquot one of the most important Champagne Houses. These areas are The Abyss, The Crayères and The Universe.

THE ABYSS – Forever linked to the story of the company from its foundation, when Philippe Clicquot established a “négoce de vins” that would trade beyond frontiers, choosing the anchor, a symbol of hope, as a trademark for the corks of his bottles. The sea was crucial toVeuve Clicquot’s triumphant success in Russia when, in 1814, Madame Clicquot bravely challenged the trade embargo of the time and managed to bring her wines to the court of the Tsar in St. Petersburg. The sea, too, in 2010 cast up some bottles of Veuve Clicquot that had been lost in a shipwreck off Finland’s Aland Islands. Despite having been on the seabed for nearly two centuries, the bottles were in an excellent state of conservation, bearing witness to the exceptional quality of the company’s wines from the earliest times.

THE “CRAYÈRES” – The chalk caves are an invaluable network created between the Gallo-Roman era and the 18th century. Today this area is considered as a Unesco world heritage site, reaching 24 kilometres underneath the soil of Champagne. The chalk caves are the heart and soul of the House, where Veuve Clicquot bottles repose and where the table de remuage is located.

THE UNIVERSE – The upstairs space represented a territory that’s yet-to-be explored and a future to be discovered. The space is also a direct reference to the comet that crossed the sky of Champagne in 1811, harbinger of an excellent harvest. This year, Madame Clicquot produced an exceptional vintage, known as the “Vin de la Comète”, which carried her fame worldwide, bearing witness to her motto – “Only one quality – the finest”.