In 2021, Gucci opened a multi-sensory, retrospective exhibition in Florence to celebrate 100 years since its founding. The spectacular show, ‘Gucci Garden Archetypes’, paid homage not only to the lauded Italian brand’s history, but to the incredible tenure of its current Creative Director, Alessandro Michele. Now, having made its way through Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul, the exhibition has landed in Sydney — giving us the perfect excuse to skip across the ditch.
Taking over the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo, Gucci Garden Archetypes comprises a series of distinct, immersive spaces designed by Achivio Personale that feature cutting-edge technology, elaborate hand-crafting and innovative interior design to speak to different aspects of Gucci’s heritage. And, to delve in to the various campaigns that its lauded Creative Director has conceived for the brand since the start of his tenure.
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From the exhibition’s entranceway (swathed in a distinct tone of Gucci pink) visitors enter through a multi-media room lined with screens that play all of Michele’s campaigns at once — an immersive ode to the way in which the creative director has shaped Gucci’s visual identity (and perhaps also, to the way in which his creative vision typically brings Gucci’s multi-faceted heritage into sharp focus, and grounds it firmly in the now). From there, the various spaces see visitors move from a floral, olfactory haven to a room finished in floor-to-ceiling mirrors and filled with shelves of soft toys, vintage Crocker and Gucci bags and a wall of cuckoo clocks (Michele has a fascination with collecting things — so much so he has basically turned it into a kind of eclectic art form), to a room recreated as a Milanese subway (complete with a very realistic mannequin).
Gucci Garden Archetypes is a carefully-curated, meticulously detailed look inside the mind of Michele — an iconoclastic designer who has transformed the house of Gucci since he took its creative reigns. If you find yourself in Sydney over the coming months, this fascinating exhibition is well-worth a visit.
On from the 17th of November 2022 until the 15th of January 2023, the exhibition is free to the public. Book your tickets here.
