This is awfully shocking. At first I was sure, that it was just an independent students project,
but it isn’t. They released it on the Photokina.
Well. Hasselblad was sold from one “investor” to another “investor” in 2011. This probably means, that the company
is creaking under dept. The investment group, that is now running (or draining?) it, sits in Swizzerland. They founded
a new “design studio” in Venice, Italy. Which probably only means, that one of their managers has a girl down there and
some “interns” doing the best they can to crank out renders and models within short notice before the fair.
This whole project is hilarious. And history likes to repeat itself. What this reminds me of most is the “Packard Baker” of
1957:
A.: Find a perfectly balanced timeless design as a base model.
B.: Adorn it with as many glitzy “rich” elements, blown out of proportion, a vegas hooker could ever imagine as “class”.
C.: Sell it off under a once meaningful brand and make sure it is branded thickly.
D.: Bomb in the market place.
E.: Ruin the Brand for ever.
F.: Run !
SONY:
Hasselblad LUNATIC:
Probably this comparison is unfair to the Packard Bakers…
And I am really keen to see, how and if this Hasselblad crocodile leather stuff sells in some places. THAT would
really be interesting.
mo-i