Anyone can throw a massive birthday bash to celebrate their 100th anniversary, but the House of Gucci isn’t just anyone. As part of its centennial festivities, the fashion Maison launched its Aria collection just last month, and announced its next fashion show in Los Angeles. And for the topper, Gucci has unveiled the Gucci Garden Archetypes, an immersive multimedia experience at the Gucci Garden in Florence.
From mythical ark builders and intergalactic explorers, to angels and aliens, Creative Director Alessandro Michele has curated a recreation of the brand’s most memorable advertising campaigns during his tenure. This expansive exploration of Michele’s kaleidoscope vision delves into the multifarious inspirations from the music, art, travel, and pop culture spheres that resonate through Gucci’s campaigns.
“I thought it was interesting to accompany people in these first six years of adventure, inviting them to cross the imaginary, the narrative, the unexpected, the glitter. So, I created a playground of emotions that are the same as in the campaigns, because they are the most explicit journey into my imagery,” said Michele in a statement.
What to expect
To realise Michele’s vision into narrative spaces that reflect and enhance the uniqueness of his aesthetics, design studio Archivio Personale has used cutting-edge technology, elaborate handcrafting and innovative interior design to create a sequence of distinct, immersive worlds.
Accessed via what appears to be a behind-the-scenes operations centre, visitors first experience a split-screen live view of the exhibition they are about to enter. Inside, a network of themed spaces and corridors bring the intricate world-building of 15 Gucci campaigns to life.
Gucci Beauty
In the beauty aisle, Gucci Beauty’s lipstick campaign for the ‘bold, bright and beautiful’ is transformed into a multi-screen extravaganza, in which visitors are dazzled from multiple angles by the now-famous smile of punk singer Dani Miller that has overthrown beauty conventions in the cosmetic industry.
To enchant the senses, visitors are invited to stroll through the scented floral paradise of Gucci Bloom – a hidden imaginary garden that has become a place of freedom for the three stars of the campaign: actress Dakota Johnson, feminist artist and photographer Petra Collins, and actress, model, and trans woman Hari Nef. Chosen for their charismatic and unconventional nature, these women collectively ushered in Michele’s inclusive vision of modern femininity.
In addition, the new Gucci Garden eau de parfum joins The Alchemist’s Garden, Gucci’s collection of luxury fragrances. Created in the spirit of its birthplace, Gucci Garden is the brand’s first limited edition fragrance coming in individually numbered bottles. With only 1,000 of these being made, the new scent reflects the uniqueness of the Gucci Garden boutique in Florence.
Memorable fashion moments
Gucci Pre-Fall 2017
Gucci Pre-Fall 2018
(Swipe left for more)
One room features a circular projection that creates the immersive sensation of being out “on the floor” with the exuberant dancers of Pre-Fall 2017. Comprised of a pioneering cast of an all-black ensemble, Michele describes this as “a homage to the elegance of black culture”, by putting it in the foreground. This campaign served as a response to the need for a better representation of the Black community in the fashion industry.
Moving on to Pre-Fall 2018, where a homage to the Parisian youth of ‘May 68’ on the 50th anniversary is evoked by a graffitied stairway connecting the two floors of the space. For Spring-Summer 2018, interdisciplinary artist Ignasi Monreal created – in almost 900 hours of painstaking work – a giant hand-painted mural that covers the walls and ceiling.
Gucci Fall-Winter 2016
Gucci Fall-Winter 2016
Gucci Cruise 2016
Gucci Fall-Winter 2017
Gucci Fall-Winter 2017
Gucci Spring-Summer 2018
Gucci Fall-Winter 2018
Gucci Fall-Winter 2018
(Swipe left for more)
Elsewhere, 150,000 shimmering sequins that blanket the walls in a glimmering reimagining of the Fall-Winter 2016 campaign, a trip through Tokyo, while a museum-style diorama provides a guide to the creatures, aliens, and explorers of the Fall-Winter 2017 campaign’s trip to outer space.
The Fall-Winter 2018 campaign fills one space from floor to ceiling, surrounding visitors with shelves stacked with thousands of caged butterflies, as well as hundreds of cuckoo clocks, colourful wigs, and sneakers. Guests can also find themselves in the ‘80s nightclub bathroom of the Berlin-set Spring-Summer 2016 campaign, and behind the scenes in the sprawling modernist villa that hosted the Cruise 2020 campaign ‘party of the century’.
Other locations include a mirrored labyrinth that explores a stately home like the one at the heart of the Cruise 2016 campaign, a “trip” through the world of Cruise 2019’s epic community of ark-builders, and a ride on an LA subway carriage like the one in the Fall-Winter 2015 campaign – the first by Alessandro Michele.
Taking it online
Fortunately for those who aren’t able to pay Florence a visit, Gucci once again explores the digital realm by making a virtual tour of Gucci Garden Archetypes available online. The House has also partnered with global online platform Roblox for this shared experience. Visitors who explore this virtual gallery, the digital avatars transform into mannequins that absorb elements of the exhibition – turning themselves into unique digital artworks.
Photos: Gucci