Gucci creates a Flora Garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Gucci is pleased to announce its participation in the internationally renowned RHS Chelsea Flower Show, 2014, in London.

 

Since the Gucci Flora motif debut in 1966 in homage to actress Grace Kelly, following a visit by the then Princess Grace of Monaco with her husband Prince Ranier to the Gucci Milan boutique, it has become one of the most well-loved and recognisable icons of the Italian House.

 

This May, Gucci will be bringing Flora to life, literally, in an innovative, contemporary way in the ‘Fresh Garden’ category at the Show.

 

The original design was commissioned by Rodolfo Gucci, one of founder Guccio Gucci’s sons, who wanted to present Princess Grace with a special gift. He commissioned artist Vittorio Accornero to create a floral pattern for an original silk scarf as a symbolic bouquet.

 

Flora’s delicate and whimsical composition of flowers, fruits and insects, drawn with naturalistic precision in thirty-seven colours, is dedicated to the four seasons. Award-winning garden designer Sarah Eberle will take the design as inspiration for the Gucci Flora Garden, which will be a horticultural realisation of the famous illustration.

 

The project embodies the Royal Horticultural Society’s dedication to advancing gardening techniques, and showcases expertise and excellence in horticulture. The values of traditional skill, innovation and environmental responsibility are perfectly synonymous with Gucci’s own House philosophy.

 

Gucci Creative Director Frida Giannini says, ‘When I first joined Gucci, I immediately asked to see the archive, and it was there that I rediscovered the Flora pattern. I remember chic women – my mother and grandmother among them – wearing Flora scarves in the Seventies, and I’ve always been fascinated by the story behind the design and how it was created for Princess Grace. That is why Flora was the very first iconic design motif from Gucci’s storied past that I decided to revive and reinterpret, and since then I have used it on bags, dresses, scarves (of course) and as the inspiration for a series of fragrances. I am so excited by the prospect of finally seeing Flora as a real garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show; there is something truly magical about this project.’

 

To celebrate the Flora Garden, Gucci will introduce two exclusive Lady Lock handbags designed by Frida Giannini. An evolution of the House’s famous use of bamboo cane characterises the shape of the Lady Lock, which features a bamboo top-handle with elegantly elongated lines. This has been heated and bent into a semi-circle using the method Gucci’s Florentine artisans first employed in 1947 when they were pushed to invent clever solutions to wartime rationing of materials. The design has a luggage-style opening, with a placket that unlocks at the top of the bag. It will be available in two sizes – small and medium – in the Flora canvas.

 

The two Lady Lock handbag styles will be available exclusively at Gucci’s Sloane Street boutique from May 2014.  During the following dates Gucci also invites its customers to experience firsthand the craftsmanship of the Gucci silk artisans in store: Tuesday 20th May - Saturday.

 

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show will take place from Tuesday 20th May – Saturday 24th May.