Bellissimo! The Gucci Garden has opened in Florence

Alessandro Michele opens a three-storey lifestyle concept in a palazzo in the heart of Florence
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Chloe Street11 January 2018

Alessandro Michele has a magic touch.

Under his leadership the "Guccification" phenomenon has permeated our wardrobes and feeds, creating an almost cult-like following.

The polymath designer has recently completed a new project: the redesign of the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia in Florence which was, until recently, the site of the Gucci Museo.

Located just a few steps from the Uffizi Gallery and Piazza di San Firenze and housed in a historic Florentine palazzo dating back to 1337, the Gucci Museo - which opened back in 2011 - has long served as a shrine to the storied history of the brand founded by Guccio Gucci in 1921.

Now redeveloped and reimagined by Alessandro Michele as a multi-functional, multi-coloured creative space, the Gucci Garden opened its doors this week to coincide with the Pitti Uomo men's fashion trade show in Florence.

Far from simply a museum, the three-storey Gucci Garden now boasts an exhibition space, a restaurant helmed by three-Michelin-star chef Massimo Bottura and a boutique stocking exclusive and dedicated merchandise.

The ground floor boutique stocks products exclusively designed for the Gucci Garden and not on sale in any other Gucci stores. Products such as shoes and bags in special materials, and one-of-a-kind silk bombers embroidered with the Gucci Garden Gothic script will all feature a distinctive Gucci Garden label and come in packaging exclusive to the boutique.

Also on the ground floor is an intimate restaurant helmed by star Italian Chef Massimo Bottura. Internationally renowned for his three-Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana, Bottura has created a menu of iconic Italian dishes as well as conceptual twists on classics for the all-day dining venue. “The restaurant," he says, "is a reminder that Florence has always been a centre of cultural exchange, particularly during the Renaissance."

Gucci

The Gucci Garden Galleria occupies the first and second floors of the palazzo, and tells the story of the house via an exhibition of clothing, accessories, video installations, artworks, documents and artefacts curated by Alessandro Michele and Maria Luisa Frisa, head of the BA degree course in Fashion Design and Multimedia Arts at Iuav University in Venice.

An homage to the city of Florence, throughout, the Gucci Garden expresses a love of hand-work and craftsmanship that echoes the palazzo’s mercantile origins and the House’s history of artisan workmanship. Half of the 8-euro ticket price for the Gucci Garden Galleria will be donated to support restoration projects in the city of Florence.

No doubt the Gucci Garden will become a magnet for all die-hard #guccification groupies.

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