GUCCI Museum

“JET SET” by Beatrice Brandini

Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten” Aldo Gucci 1938

Side of the GUCCI Museum, in front of Palazzo Vecchio

Among the many reasons to visit Florence, there is one more and it’s the beautiful Gucci Museum (in Piazza della Signoria, near the Palazzo Vecchio), in a historic building from 1300, the Palace of Merchandise; these few information would be a good reason to visit it.

    

Entrance GUCCI Museum

The Museum, founded in 2011 at the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the brand, is a tribute to the historical archive, strongly backed by Frida Giannini (who also designed), which has always felt a great responsibility and love with the legacy of the brand (Frida you are an example for all of us women, not necessarily those of the fashion world, and that satisfaction be on the cover of the D la Republica after Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton!) .

On the ground floor, in addition to the museum, there is a bookstore in partnership with Rizzoli, specializing in fashion, art and photography books, a shop with iconic products of the Gucci world, a Café extremely pleasant and always in the exhibition rooms, installations of contemporary art, with works from one of the most important collections in the world, the Pinault collection. All the people who work there are extremely nice, I have not qualified , so it is a natural predisposition, and I must say thanks to Mrs. Marina di Grassi Savini + Partners PR , which handles external relations of the museum.

    

Veruschka in Rome , 1960s                        “Fashion Victim” by Beatrice Brandini

The nice thing about this museum is that there is not nostalgic self-congratulation by the brand, but it is a sharing between the company and the visitor, the presence of dream’s objects, now entered in our imagination, they become almost ” familiar “. 

Room dedicated to the Journey

The space dedicated to the permanent exhibition begins on the ground floor with the dining “Journey”, beautiful suitcases, trunks , cosmetic bag … made with the finest materials for a careful and demanding consumer. Collectibles, belonged to the most famous characters of the international jet set, as evidenced by the many pictures hung throughout the museum .

Young Guccio Gucci worked as a doorman at the Savoy Hotel in London. This experience is definitely essential for the birth of the Gucci brand . In fact, once he returned to Florence decided, still fascinated by the aristocratic world of international travelers, to create a collection of luggage. “G. Gucci Travelling Goods Florence “, this is the definition that appears in the first labels of suitcases and bags, made in Florence. This is the beginning of the Gucci dream .

    

Room ” Evening “

The exhibition continues with other themes and fundamental icons  to the Gucci brand, as the world’s “Flora”, a beautiful fancy fabric that has characterized many Gucci products over the years, of all the foulard; then find the “Evening” with dresses dream who have trod the most famous red carpet on the world, the hall of “Bags” (my favorite); the one with the “Logomania” dedicated to the double-G monogram and ultimately linked to the “Lifestyle and Sport” world,  with leisure objects.

Room “Logomania”

The famous moccasin from 1953

I’ve always been in love with this brand, no doubt because it has always done a great value quality products, classically beautiful but also modern with a twist of elegance and glamor. I ‘m fond of because he was born in Florence, still the heart of the production is Italian and, especially, Florentine. And alos because Gucci cares about social issues, devoting part of turnovers and special projects for charity.

    

My private vintage bags collection….

Vintage clock Gucci

Vintage dress Gucci

Finally, not all brands open their archives to the public, their “secrets”, the things that made them famous in the world. This is also why I think that Gucci has done a splendid job and deeply generous. Turns out that half of the cost of the ticket will be donated to the City of Florence to restore works of art in Florence, Gucci THANK YOU again! Your success is a combination of all this, beauty, historicity, quality and HEART, such as sharing and helping those less fortunate.

Red Independent Heart by Joana Vasconcelos– photo by Alessandro Moggi @Gucci

Inside the museum, an exhibition of contemporary art, it is the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos , from the collection Pinault . This artist creates works with everyday objects decontextualising . The most striking thing was the work Red Independent Heart, a giant heart created with hundreds of knives, forks, spoons in plastic red, melted together and molded on a steel structure. This poetic sculpture, as if suspended in the air, swinging following the poignant notes of Amalia Rodrigues.

Greetings from a special mascot….

Good Life at all!

Beatrice