NORTH SAILS
BORN TO SAIL, FORCED TO DOCK.
When North Sails reached out to Pocko in September 2024, they had a bold idea: create something artistic and unexpected for Milano Design Week. We took that spark and built a full creative journey—uniting art, fashion, technology, and storytelling.
At the core was the campaign’s evocative claim: “Born to sail, forced to dock.” This became the foundation for a multi-channel project: an original capsule collection, a large-scale public installation, and an AI-powered teaser film.
We brought in two of our talented artists to bring the vision to life. Marco Oggian, known for his unmistakable visual language, designed both the capsule collection—a reimagining of North Sails’ most iconic pieces—and the monumental installation: a giant inflatable paper boat made entirely from recycled sail nylon. Installed in Milan’s City Life district, the 8-meter-long structure celebrated the wonder of sailing through a playful, childlike lens.
“ There was something truly fascinating about this process. When I started, nothing existed in reality yet—I was given drawings of Marco’s products to create a video. While the physical pieces were being produced in the real world, I was building their digital counterparts in the realm of AI at the same time. Two parallel timelines unfolding—one in code, one in craft—blurring the line between the virtual and the physical. After countless attempts, thousands of image and video generations, lots of manual work, and many sleepless nights, here it is. It was a mind-bending process, and I loved collaborating with the whole team.”
- Deniz Kozakiewicz
Meanwhile, Deniz Kozakiewicz, our Barcelona-based AI artist, created a surreal teaser film to echo the campaign’s message. In it, a tired city commuter is drawn into vivid visions of sea life—jellyfish, fish, water—before breaking free and running toward the ocean. Dreamlike and emotionally charged, the teaser blurred the line between physical and digital worlds.
The campaign took over North Sails’ flagship store on Via Dante with a full storefront wrap of Marco’s artwork and a massive LED wall screening the teaser. The project officially launched during Design Week with a press preview and private cocktail event.
This collaboration was more than a project—it was a journey. A celebration of creativity, sustainability, and the call of the sea.
“When I work on a project, I often let the child inside me guide me. For this collection with North Sails, I drew on primal emotions, transforming them into simple, direct languages. I converted nautical imagery into essential shapes that evoke sailing ships and immediate phrases that take us back to the sea, the wind and the freedom of sailing”.
- Marco Oggian