Returning to its place of origin, the home of the Renaissance, for its own sense of rebirth, Gucci embraces the city of Florence once more. As the birthplace of Gucci and home to its enduring artisanal and commercial legacy, Florence serves as a meaningful setting for the latest Cruise collection and show. Founded here in 1921, the House continues to draw from the city of perpetual spring, whose name derives from the Latin word for ‘to blossom’. Florence is foundational to the culture of fashion and to Italy itself, where a stratification of histories allows the future to be built on the past.
In turn, at once universal and personal, Gucci embodies a variety of expressions, with its clothing and accessories, its particular style, adapted and evolved through generational shifts, moving from then to now and to the future, travelling through time. And if anywhere is Gucci’s ‘time machine’, it is the 15th-century Palazzo Settimanni, home of the Gucci Archive, and a living, breathing space that informs the past, present and future of the House. In the Cruise collection unveiled at the Palazzo, the influence of the archive and the rich history of Florence itself have been assimilated into a playful mélange, ranging from the minimal to the maximal. Here, fashion decades are traversed and patchworked, while the material culture of centuries is integrated – after all, since the Middle Ages, Florence has been a powerhouse of fabric production. Expertly treated brocades, jacquards, silks, and velvets are opulently utilized; lace is layered, strass-embellished, and richly embroidered, creating a stratification of techniques that echoes a stratification of histories.
The linking motif of the GG Monogram moves through the collection, while the graphic single G is reinvented, stamping its mark on belt buckles, inlays, and the heels of shoes. A silhouette with a strong structured shoulder, exaggerated and oversized, is also lean, long, and sinuous, slipping from day to night. Leather goods, at the heart and start of Gucci in the city, are presented with their iconicity intact in archive-inspired pieces or are evolved into new, soft constructions with casual, graspable ease, like the half-Horsebit design and vanity-style bag. The new Gucci Giglio bag is an homage to the city and to the giglio — the Italian word for lily and the stylised emblem that has symbolised Florence since mediaeval times — and will be available immediately after the show.
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Gucci’s leatherwork heritage is further explored in a new high jewellery collection co-created with Pomellato named ‘Monili’ – Italian for ‘jewels’ – reflecting a shared philosophy of craftsmanship. Drawing inspiration from archival Pomellato designs from 1984, leather, gold, and pavé diamonds come together in a necklace and minaudière featured in the show, brought to life through meticulous artistry and considered detail. A distinctive sense of Italian style, characterised by ‘sprezzatura’ – the perfectly imperfect, a studied effortlessness – a way of living and dressing that has been integral to Gucci’s aesthetic from the beginning and has its origins with the courtiers of the Renaissance, is something that permeates the collection and its salon-style presentation.
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Since its inception, the Gucci world has always been one cinematic in its scope, stylised and sumptuous, character-driven and individually adaptable, a feeling that is echoed here again. Eschewing the conventional finale for the evening show, and, as a tribute to Florence – the place that has given Gucci so much – the models will walk into the piazza outside, the House entering the street, once more absorbed back into the city for the beginning of a new journey. Where, as always, Gucci is Florence, and Florence is Gucci.
The show will take place at 11:00 pm IST and can be viewed on Gucci.com, the Gucci App or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CutR0-J5J3U.
