MILAN — Gucci has simply named Demna its new inventive director and is setting the foundations for a brand new chapter. However on the identical time the corporate is paying tribute to its 104-year historical past with a give attention to its silk craftsmanship and archival designs which have contributed to its model consciousness.
Launching the “90×90” undertaking, Gucci invited 9 worldwide artists to reinterpret 5 chosen themes rooted within the model’s archives: flora, fauna, nautical, equestrian and GG Monogram.
As well as, the e book “Gucci: The Artwork of Silk,” created in collaboration with Assouline, shall be printed by the top of April tracing the historical past and artistry behind Gucci’s silk scarves.
A picture from the Assouline e book “Gucci: The Artwork of Silk.”
On April 1, Gucci will kick off the sale of the “90×90” scarves and launch a marketing campaign devoted to the silk and foulards phase. The subsequent day, Gucci will host activations devoted to “The Artwork of Silk” undertaking in Paris, together with an occasion in its Rue Saint-Honoré retailer and a dinner devoted to the marketing campaign.
Gucci started to develop its silk craftsmanship within the Fifties, and the earliest designs featured motifs impressed by the model’s signature leather-based items.
The primary scarf that was exactly dated harks again to 1958, produced in Como, Italy — the nautical-themed “Tolda di Nave [Deck of a Ship].”
Gucci’s 1958 “Tolda di Nave” foulard.
All through the Nineteen Sixties, Gucci elevated its scarf designs by collaborating with illustrator Vittorio Accornero de Testa, whose intricate particulars and vivacious motifs contributed to Gucci’s stature within the phase. Between 1960 and 1981, Accornero designed practically 80 scarves, remodeling silk into wearable artwork.
Scarves grew to change into central to Gucci’s identification, and by 1969 silk prolonged past equipment to clothes, with scarf prints embellishing shirts and clothes — a development which has continued through the years till at present.
The Motifs
The Flora scarf, considered one of Gucci’s most iconic designs, was created in 1966 when Princess Grace of Monaco put in a request for a colourful and exuberant design and Rodolfo Gucci, son of founder Guccio Gucci, requested Accornero to help.
With a design made up of 43 sorts of flowers, vegetation and bugs, painted totally by hand and impressed by Fifteenth-century artist Sandro Botticelli’s “Allegory of Spring,” the flowery composition required 37 distinct colours, every utilized via separate printing steps. The motif impressed the model’s first silk gown in 1969 and has been reimagined by Gucci’s completely different inventive administrators through the years.
A Gucci Flora bag.
Following the Flora, Accornero launched the Marina Chain motif, within the mid-Seventies, first in jewellery and equipment earlier than increasing into scarves and ready-to-wear. The motif was reimagined in 2023 for the home’s new jewellery line by inventive director Sabato De Sarno.
Accornero’s animalia print bowed in 1969 with vivid depictions of wildlife, together with lions, birds and butterflies on ties, scarves and ready-to-wear clothes via the Seventies and Nineties.
Gucci’s silk scarf with Viaggio [travel] print from the late Fifties.
The GG Monogram was launched in 1969, evolving from Gucci’s earlier Diamante sample. That includes interlocking Gs in a diamond format, it first appeared on baggage earlier than gracing scarves, ties, and ready-to-wear collections.
Equestrian influences within the Fifties celebrated out of doors pursuits reminiscent of horse-riding, golf, and fishing, additional enhanced by the introduction of two enduring symbols: the Gucci Net, impressed by saddle girth stripes, and the Horsebit motif. The Horsebit, that includes a particular double ring and bar, debuted within the Fifties as a nod to equestrian sports activities and has change into an indicator of the home.
The Artists
For the present celebration, Gucci tasked 9 artists — Robert Barry, Everett Glenn, Sara Leghissa, Currynew, Jonny Niesche, Gio Pastori, Walter Petrone, Yu Cai and Inji Website positioning — to reinterpret 5 recurring scarf themes for the “90 x 90” undertaking, which is a reference to the measurements of the basic silk twill scarf (90cm x 90cm).
The themes are: Flora, fauna, nautical, equestrian, and GG Monogram.
Inji Website positioning’s scarf for Gucci’s “90×90” undertaking.
“I would like my work to be out in public the place folks can expertise it. Which is why I stated sure to those scarves,” stated American artist Robert Barry, broadly thought to be one of many pioneers and most consultant figures of the conceptual artwork motion. His work is held in main establishments reminiscent of MoMA, the Guggenheim, and the Centre Pompidou.
“I’ve all the time loved the concept of wearable artwork,” stated American multidisciplinary artist Everett Glenn whose work blends comics, portray, and efficiency to craft deeply private narratives.
Shanghai-based illustrator, graphic designer, and promoting skilled Currynew merges popular culture, music, and video video games with introspective creativeness on his artwork and stated that “designing for silk scarves challenged me to consider fluidity, layering, and the way the paintings transforms in use.” He beforehand labored with the model on the Gucci Cosmos exhibit in Shanghai.
Currynew’s scarf for Gucci’s “90×90” undertaking.
“I consider there’s something extraordinarily fascinating within the shapes of vegetation, within the colors and patterns of animal fur, within the actions of those creatures—all particulars that give my eyes a way of magnificence,” stated Italian illustrator, animator, and graphic novelist Walter Petrone, identified artistically as Wallie.
Italy-based Chinese language illustrator and animator Yu Cai, who’s energetic within the NFT area bridging conventional artistry with fashionable mediums, sees “silk scarves as a novel and thrilling ‘canvas’ for creativity. Not like conventional artwork types, silk permits for a dynamic intersection between artwork and trend.”
The E-book
Complementing these initiatives is the launch of “Gucci: The Artwork of Silk,” a quantity curated in collaboration with Assouline. That is the primary e book of its type to discover the historical past and artistry behind Gucci foulards, providing an in-depth take a look at their cultural significance, craftsmanship, and evolution over the many years.
It’s curated by Jo-Ann Furniss and options contributions from authors together with Jennifer Sliwka and Christopher Wallace.
The e book is introduced in a silk-printed slipcase with a foil-stamped brand. The hardcover e book spans 300 pages and the duvet options Gucci’s Flora motif.
The quantity shall be distributed via Gucci.com, the Assouline web site, Assouline bookstores, and choose Gucci shops worldwide.
“Gucci: The Artwork of Silk,” a brand new Gucci espresso desk e book printed by Assouline.
Courtesy of Gucci
