May 16, 2025 |
There’s something deliciously decadent about Gucci coming home to Florence. Not just geographically, but spiritually – like a favourite eccentric relative returning from a globe-trotting sabbatical, arms full of heirlooms and ideas. The cruise 2026 collection, unveiled last night in the Italian city’s Palazzo Settimanni (home of the Gucci Archive), was a sumptuous love letter to heritage rewritten in modern hand. Designed by the atelier, it acted as a prelude to Demna’s imminent arrival at the house.
Not since 1995 has the house shown within its own archive, and the choice of venue was strategic: the past, literally stitched into the present. Inside, centuries of Florentine textile tradition unfolded in lush brocades, jacquards, velvet and lace, expertly layered and unapologetically rich, each look a tactile time warp. The silhouettes slipped slyly between decades: big shoulders, long lines and a just-dropped nonchalance that screamed sprezzatura with a capital S. There was control beneath the opulence though – a tension between structure and slink. Shoulders that were exaggerated to theatrical proportions then narrowed into long, lean silhouettes, moving with confident ease from daytime tailoring to after-hours glamour. Think Renaissance court meets ’90s Milanese boss with a dash of ‘70s disco and plenty of midnight mischief.
Accessories didn’t sit pretty, they spoke. The reinvented GG and its single G cousin stamped belts, heels and inlays with graphic precision. Leather, always Gucci’s first language, was rephrased into something softer with the new Giglio bag blooming with Florentine symbolism.
For the finale, the models spilled out into the piazza, dissolving the boundary between runway and reality. Welcome home Gucci, Florence looks good on you.
Photography courtesy of Gucci.
