Friday 23 May 2014

GUCCI PRESENTS “FOREVER NOW” EXHIBITION IN SAO PAULO





Gucci announce the debut of the House’s first temporary museum in São Paulo’s JK Iguatemi mall. The three-week Gucci Museo “Forever Now” exhibit will open on May 29th and replicate the House’s Florentine museum, a living space encapsulating its “Forever Now” philosophy that pays tribute to Gucci’s heritage while looking to the future. A gift shop will complement the exhibition spaces to create a destination location for visitors. To commemorate the occasion, Carlos Jereissati Filho will host a private dinner in honor of Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini at his private residence on May 27. The following evening, Frida Giannini and Gucci President and CEO Patrizio di Marco will host a private preview of the “Forever Now” exhibit.

 

It was in 1921 when Guccio Gucci opened his company and first store in Florence with a dream and a vision that still live on today through a heritage of icons and values transcending time. Embraced by celebrities, socialites and royalty since the Fifties and Sixties, the international "jet set" were photographed everywhere wearing their favorite Gucci pieces, and today this legacy continues through the House’s deep respect for the past and vision for the future.

 

In 2011, Gucci celebrated its 90th anniversary with the opening of the Gucci Museo inside the historic Palazzo della Mercanzia located in Florence’s Piazza Signoria. For Creative Director Frida Giannini, the Gucci Museo is a space designed to embody the House's “Forever Now” philosophy, and is home to a permanent exhibition drawn from its rich and culturally significant archive, which has been preserved and amplified throughout the years. Now, treasured pieces from the Gucci Museo will travel to Brazil in celebration of the remarkable narrative behind today’s most iconic products and motifs.

 

The “Forever Now” exhibition will boast an array of rare archival pieces on loan from the Gucci Museo within different thematic spaces inspired by the House’s signature motifs and symbols.The travel theme will feature prominently with an exhibit of trunks, suitcases, accessories and articles created for the international jet-set, whose custom helped to bring international acclaim to Gucci in the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies.  It was in fact “Valigeria e Articoli da Viaggio” (Suitcases and travel accessories) that defined Guccio Gucci’s first collections having himself been inspired by the luggage laden clientele arriving at London's Savoy Hotel, where he found work as a porter in his earlier years.

 

The journey through the history of Gucci will also allow a glimpse at the evolution of the House’s beloved Bamboo bag, dating back to 1947 when Gucci’s Florentine artisans invented a creative solution to war-time rationing of materials. In an innovative move, craftsmen employed bamboo cane, which could still be imported from Japan, as a handbag handle by heating the material and bending it into a semi-circle. Taking its cue from the curves of a horse’s saddle, the structured, ladylike shape gained recognition as a triumph of Florentine workmanship and quickly transcended time with its undeniably polished glamour. While the original was a pebbled pigskin bag, during the Fifties and Sixties countless variations went into production and graced the hands of royalty and silver screen sirens – marking the bag’s destiny as an iconic Gucci design.

 

A dedicated space will showcase the legacy of the Flora motif, the iconic floral pattern that has spurred multiple interpretations over time. The print dates back to 1966, when Princess Grace visited Gucci’s Via Monte Napoleone store with her husband Prince Rainieri. On that occasion, Rodolfo Gucci wanted to present her with a special gift and commissioned artist Vittorio Accornero to create a floral pattern for an original silk scarf. The response was a silk scarf printed with nine bouquets of flowers from all four seasons, with berries, butterflies, dragonflies and insects in a beautifully graceful, richly colorful and truly enchanting illustration. Among the classics, Flora is a symbol of continuity from the Gucci archive, a design that revives every season with its evocative and timeless graphic power.

 

Following its sixtieth anniversary last year, the horsebit loafer will appear in a display narrating its history from its origins on the feet of legendary leading men in the Fifties and Sixties through to its induction as part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1985 up to modern day. An array of archival loafers provide an account of the shoe’s evolution over the years.

 

A special area will allow guests to view a selection of Gucci Première haute couture gowns, designed by Frida Giannini and worn by friends of the House on the most prestigious red carpets. An adjacent display will exclusively feature Made to Measure suits tailored to the measurements of the world’s leading men and worn on the most elite occasions.

 

Following the inauguration of the “Forever Now” exhibition, Frida Giannini will travel to Rio de Janeiro to visit the Museu de Arte do Rio, where she will meet representatives of three Brazilian organizations that will receive support from the CHIME FOR CHANGE campaign that she founded in 2013. The campaign serves to convene, unite and strengthen the voices speaking out for girls and women around the world, with a focus on using innovative approaches to raise funds and awareness for Education, Health and Justice projects. Through its crowdfunding partner Catapult, CHIME FOR CHANGE has fully funded more than 280 projects in 81 countries through 87 non-profit partners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

FOREVER NOW EXHIBITION

 

Exhibition Themes

Bamboo

Flora

Travel

Horsebit

Première

Made to Measure

 

Location

JK Iguatemi Third Floor

 

Opening Hours

Monday through Saturday12.00 to 22.00

Sundays & local holidays 14.00 to 20.00

May 29 – June 22, 2014

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