The immersive installation traces the House’s 105-year history through scenographic installations and archival narratives in Milan
Gucci presented “Gucci Memoria,” an exhibition curated by Demna, during Fuorisalone 2026 at the Chiostri di San Simpliciano in Milan, open to the public from April 21 to April 26. The project marked a large-scale installation exploring the House’s history and evolving identity through a continuous narrative format.
Conceived as an immersive exhibition unfolding across the cloisters, the project brought together a series of installations including tapestries, a botanical environment, and interactive elements. At its core was a cycle of twelve tapestries that traced key moments in Gucci’s history, from Guccio Gucci’s early years in London and the founding of the Florentine workshop to the development of signature products and successive creative eras under designers including Tom Ford, Frida Giannini, Alessandro Michele, Sabato De Sarno, and Demna.
The scenography extended beyond the tapestries through a garden installation in the larger cloister, featuring seasonal flowers inspired by the House’s Flora motif, and a series of custom vending machines in the smaller cloister. The machines dispensed beverages created by Gucci Giardino, the brand’s Florence-based café, linking each drink to characters representing different facets of Gucci’s identity.
Alongside the exhibition, Gucci introduced a pre-launch of handbags and accessories featuring the Flora motif across select Milan locations beginning April 16, including Via Montenapoleone, Galleria, Rinascente, and Malpensa. The offering included styles such as the Giglio and Jackie 1961, extending the exhibition’s themes into retail.
Following the exhibition’s closure, the Via Montenapoleone store planned to distribute bouquets composed of flowers from the installation, continuing the project through the reuse of its materials. The initiative positioned “Gucci Memoria” as both a historical reflection and a broader brand activation, linking heritage, product, and experiential design within the context of Milan Design Week.
