illy takes whimsical star turn in Barneys New York holiday windows

While Ms. Illy's proportions are entirely today -- her look somewhat tomorrow - her picture- windowed home's measurements conjure yesterday's Italian bombshell. 300 three-kilo illy tins, 250 foil bags (former home to illy's single-serve iperEspresso capsules) and 250 8.8-oz. illy cans will turn heads clear to Fifth Avenue. And does she ever accessorize, pulling off an espresso machine headpiece (ahem, illy's Francis Francis X1 iperEspresso machine), a coffee scoop-turned earring and a garland fashioned from 300 paper cups.

Doonan's playful, masterful Miss Illy may be new to the world and to Barneys New York holiday windows, but she's steeped in illy's longstanding relationship with culture and collaborations with contemporary artists. Jeff Koons, Marina Abramovic, Julian Schnabel and the late Robert Rauschenberg are among modern masters who contributed original designs for the illy collection of espresso cups, dating to 1992, and now the world's largest assembly of single-item art collectibles. James Rosenquist, one of pop art's chief protagonists, designed illy's now iconic white-on-red square logo.

"This collaboration is entirely natural for illy. The coffee experience is about the best taste, to be sure. But it is also about beauty - about enjoying with all five senses, fueling mind and spirit. Coffee has long been a protagonist for important ideas and fine art, it is well documented, going back hundreds of years to the world's first coffee houses," said Andrea Illy, Chairman and Chief Executive

of illycaffe. "Simon has found an entirely new and otherwise unimaginable way to demonstrate this, certain to delight and inspire all who see his stunning, inventive work."

"Think of Miss Illy as the ultimate exercise in creative recycling," said Doonan. One look, and you see she's quite the contemporary gal, so her recycled content goes right along with her modernity. Her very idea and life quite literally sprang from others before her. So while this is great fun, with art, with coffee, we are serious about the multi-use message, about sustainability, as has been illy, long before it came into fashion."

Miss Illy's street-level admirers are invited to visit the Barneys New York Madison Avenue flagship's ninth floor, where through December 31, illy will delight Barneys guests with complimentary espresso and cappuccino -- the world's finest, prepared in the authentic Italian style by top baristas.

About illycaffe

Illycaffe is the world's finest Italian coffee and a leader in quality, innovation, and technology. A third-generation Italian coffee company, illy is the number one European imported coffee brand in North America. Based in Trieste, Italy, illycaffe produces and markets a unique blend of coffee as the single brand leader in quality coffee and gives coffee connoisseurs an overall authentic Italian coffee experience. illy is available in more than 50,000 of the finest restaurants and coffee bars and is sold in over 140 countries around the world, serving more than 6 million cups of illy coffee per day. Globally, illy employs more than 700 people. illy buys green coffee of the highest quality Arabica directly from the growers through partnerships based on the mutual creation of value. The Italian-based company fosters long-term collaborations with the world's finest coffee growers - in Brazil, Central America, India and Africa - providing know-how and technology and offering above-market prices.