Gucci is going back to its Florentine roots with a multifaceted cultural project with the Uffizi Gallery and Florence, where the Italian luxury brand will show its Cruise 2018 collection at the Pitti Palace’s Palatina Gallery on May 29. It will be the first-ever fashion show staged in this part of the historic palace. The project, called Primavera di Boboli, will also include a restoration of the palace’s Boboli Gardens thanks to a 2 million euro donation from Gucci and the patronage of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism, plus funding from the Municipality of Florence and a partnership with the Uffizi Gallery. Gucci’s contribution will be paid to the Uffizi Gallery over the course of three years. The gardens date back to the 16th century and include unique sculptures, architecture, landscaping and plants.
“This collaboration represents a wonderful opportunity to celebrate and sustain Florence’s cultural splendor and I would like to thank all the institutions that are involved. Gucci is a global brand with strong roots in Florence,” said Gucci’s president and CEO, Marco Bizzarri, in a statement. “The success we have achieved in recent years through the vision of our Creative Director, Alessandro Michele, is reliant upon the skills, spirit of innovation, passion and abilities of the craftspeople and everyone else who works for the brand in Florence and the surrounding area.”
Michele will present Gucci’s Cruise show in a “sensory experience that goes beyond the visual,” according to the press release, which did not offer any further explanation, but one can expect something grand from Michele given his penchant for gardens and history. Gucci’s last two cruise shows were held first in New York’s artsy Chelsea neighborhood followed by a show presented at The Cloisters at London’s Westminster Abbey last season.
“We are truly grateful to Gucci for having chosen the Palatina Gallery at the Pitti Palace with its very rare treasures of European painting as a backdrop for its exceptional creativity,” said Eike Schmidt, director of the Uffizi Gallery, in a statement. “We are equally grateful for the commitment to Florence that Gucci has shown with its participation in the Primavera di Boboli project, which literally will give new life to the gardens and make them once again Italy’s answer to Versailles.”
