Gucci, the iconic Italian luxury house, is headed towards its 100-year anniversary in 2011 which will celebrate its rich heritage, its multiple decades of style creation, and the variety of directions taken by the brand to reach this milestone.
Gucci has been gearing up to make this celebration a big one in many ways, particularly by reviving past elements by giving them a new spin. Take for example, the Gucci Artisan Corner, a live exhibition held at select Gucci stores worldwide, which will feature a set of skilled Gucci craftsmen assembling classic pieces from the leather handbag collection including the Bamboo, the Jackie, the G Wave, and a range of small leather goods. Gucci stores in Tokyo, Osaka, Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Chicago, Beverly Hills and New York will receive this exhibition in March and April 2010.
Gucci’s Creative Director Frida Giannini has also reinterpreted the brand’s two most iconic handbags with a modern twist: the New Jackie – a reinvention of The Jackie, one of Jackie Onassis’ most preferred handbags, and the New Bamboo – a reinterpretation of one of the most famous celebrity and jetsetter accessories during the 1950s and 1960s. The New Jackie retains the rounded-edge shape and signature detail of the original but is now larger and has oversized topleather stitching, a deconstructed ultra-soft body and long leather tassels with bamboo details. The New Bamboo has kept the style and shape of the original; additions include nickel hardware, a long draped metal chain and bamboo-fringed tassels. These items are part of the Fall/Winter 2009 and Spring/Summer 2010 collections.
Frida Giannini has also renovated five key Gucci flagship stores, keeping the above theme – sustaining heritage by giving it a modern touch. The flagship store located on Sloane Street, London since 1990, is the most recent in this series of redesigns. The most impressive part of the new boutique is the 60-meter façade looking onto Sloane Street and is made with tone-on-tone bronze metal enhanced with a special LED lighting affect. The Rome flagship on via Condotti and the one on Fifth Avenue, New York are amongst the other famed Gucci stores that have been revamped. All stores use gold panels, rosewood and white marble – trademarks of the brand’s retail locations.
Gucci Collector is an initiative launched in January 2010 in partnership with Christie’s. It offers a platform for owners of Gucci vintage handbags (20+ years old) to upload photos of their item for appraisal by a team formed of Gucci and Christies personnel. If approved, owners can either sell their handbag via the Gucci Collector platform to interested buyers, or they can sell it to Gucci themselves who will use it as part of their growing collection of vintage pieces which will be shown off during their anniversary events next year.
The Gucci brand was born in Florence in 1921, and began expanding in 1938 under the leadership of founder Guccio Gucci. During the 1950s and 1960s, Gucci was the brand of choice for the international jetset crowd, and the brand enjoyed immense international success. Patrons include classic style symbols such as Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Jackie Onassis. Despite a few lows during the 1970s and 1980s, the brand was revived in the 1990s when Tom Ford took over the creative direction, and after the company went public.
Today, under Frida Giannini’s direction, the revived and revamped brand holds position #41 in the 2009 list of Top Global 100 Brands. The brand is also involved in philanthropic projects: a collaboration with UNICEF (Snowman in Africa), the Mary J. Blige Center for Women and more. Gucci believes that the jetsetter image of today also includes a charity and social responsibility counterpart to its opulent image that has been carried on from yesteryears. Aside from these activities, the brand also remains relevant by playing along with the tunes of the hip and the current. The 2009 Gucci Icon sneaker collaboration with DJ Mark Ronson, along with the accompanying pop-up shops, iPhone application and Gucci Beats program is a clear example of this.
Overall, the brand’s image, values, aesthetics, and direction have changed during its 100 years. Its heritage of high-fashion, style and craftsmanship, however, has remained strong. Celebrate Gucci’s anniversary and the festivities leading up to it by following the brand on Twitter, Facebook or via the Gucci mobile application.
