For Milan Design Week, Gucci retraces 105 years of the maison’s history with ‘Gucci Memoria’. Curated by creative director Demna and staged at the Chiostri di San Simpliciano, the installation ranges from tapestries to a botanical environment inspired by the iconic Flora motif, designed by Vittorio Accornero in 1966, and extends to interactive elements, including bespoke vending machines.
The heart of the exhibition, unveiled during Fuorisalone, is a cycle of twelve tapestries conceived as a visual chronicle of the maison.
Each piece interprets a pivotal moment in Gucci’s history, beginning with Guccio Gucci’s formative years at The Savoy in London, moving through the founding of the first Florentine workshop, and culminating in the articulation of the maison’s visual identity and its ascent as an international symbol of luxury.
Subsequent scenes reflect the maison’s principal creative eras, from the emergence of iconic designs such as the Jackie 1961 and Bamboo 1947 handbags to the distinctive visions of the maison’s historic creative directors, including Tom Ford, Frida Giannini, Alessandro Michele and Sabato De Sarno, culminating in Demna’s current vision.
The exhibition retraces the evolution of Gucci’s identity, from its Florentine origins to its most contemporary creative expressions, offering a symbolic meditation on the ‘guccification’ of design.
In the large cloister, the botanical installation showcases specially cultivated seasonal flowers inspired by the iconic Flora motif, deepening the exploration of memory and reinvention. In the small cloister, vending machines dispense canned drinks created by Gucci Giardino, the maison’s café and cocktail bar located in Piazza della Signoria in Florence.
To mark the debut of ‘Gucci Memoria’, the maison is offering for sale a selection of bags and accessories featuring the Flora motif in Milan through a dedicated pre-launch in boutiques on Via Montenapoleone, the Galleria, Rinascente and Malpensa, from April 16. Distribution will be expanded at a later stage and includes selected Giglio and Jackie 1961 styles, both characterised by the Flora motif.
@fashion network
