Cover Entrance to Gucci’s flagship store on Via Monte Napoleone
Entrance to Gucci’s flagship store on Via Monte Napoleone
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Explore Gucci’s Design Ancora, a collection of custom and classic pieces recreated to celebrate the golden age of Italian design
Some classics stay relevant, some don’t. If they’ve passed their prime, classics can be reinvented to make them relevant again. That is what Gucci’s Design Ancora is all about. Last April, Gucci welcomed its new creative chapter with an immersive exhibition of five customised design icons constructed by the Spanish architect Guillermo Santomà at the brand’s flagship store on Via Monte Napoleone. Design Ancora was one of the many events and displays during the Milan Design Week 2024.
Each masterpiece represents the golden age of Italian design—carefully redesigned and coated in Rosso Ancora, a stunning cherry red hue selected by Gucci’s creative director, Sabato De Sarno, who also spearheaded the curation of Design Ancora.
To make Gucci’s special collection come to life, the objects handpicked for the exhibition were the Le Mura by Mario Bellini (1972), Clessidra rug by Nicolò Castellini Baldissera, Storet by Nanda Vigo (1994), Opachi by Tobia Scarpa (1960) and Parola by Gae Aulenti and Piero Castiglioni (1980). “The aura emanating from the brand spotlights five pieces by Italian masters that are perfect from a design standpoint but less known to the general public,” says Michela Pelizzari, founder of Milan-based creative agency P:S and co-curator of the project.
See also: Sabato de Sarno presents his inaugural collection as creative director of Gucci in Singapore
Above Le Mura by Mario Bellini (1972)
Le Mura by Mario Bellini (1972)
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Bellini’s Le Mura sofa resembles the freshly carved boulders of Roman walls and is also seen as an active space because of its modularity. Tacchini reissued the three-seat sofa in 2022 in shiny leather with the distinct touch of Rosso Ancora.
Above Nicolò Castellini Baldissera’s Clessidra rug customised in Rosso Ancora
Nicolò Castellini Baldissera’s Clessidra rug customised in Rosso Ancora
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Castellini Baldissera’s Clessidra rug, a part of the Portaluppi Pattern Project, revisits the late architect Piero Portaluppi’s timeless building and mosaic designs woven into the rug. Maintaining the classic and contemporary rendition of Portaluppi, cc-tapis, a rug company based in Milan, customised Clessidra just this year in Rosso Ancora using the jacquard hand-loom technique.
Above Nanda Vigo’s Storet refurbished in Rosso Ancora
Nanda Vigo’s Storet refurbished in Rosso Ancora
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Vigo’s Storet cabinet breaks the monotony of interiors with its unique touch of formal and material contrasts. Its vertical structure in natural wood is elevated by the rounded shapes of the drawers, making it a space-saving and chic addition to the home. Acerbis refurbished the cabinet in 2020 in Rosso Ancora without compromising Vigo’s visionary detail.
Above Opachi by Tobia Scarpa (1960)
Opachi by Tobia Scarpa (1960)
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Scarpa’s Opachi vase flaunts its oriental porcelain elegance with minimal and intricate lines highlighting the alluring glass material that was used to create it. The glass used allows colour to beautifully shine through, so, making Rosso Ancora Opachi’s base hue was how Venini revisited the piece in 2021.
Read more: London Calling: The Gucci Cruise 2025 collection is Sabato de Sarno’s love letter to the Big Smoke
Above Parola by Gae Aulenti and Piero Castiglioni (1980)
Parola by Gae Aulenti and Piero Castiglioni (1980)
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Aulenti and Castiglioni’s Parola table lamp flawlessly embodies functionality and aesthetics. With the exemplary craftsmanship of its artists, the lamp’s design and three types of glasswork enable it to provide direct and controlled light as well as a soft glow to its surroundings. FontanaArte revamps Parola in Rosso Ancora while still conserving its original structure.
The pieces, displayed in a maze-like setup, sit in individual rooms with green curved walls to blur boundaries and emphasise a metaphysical space for each one to appear on its own, presented as ideas rather than mere products.
“If we had put the objects all together, we would have created a living room. Instead, we decided to remove the boundaries given by how we use these objects and create a sort of limbo,” says Santomà, who is known for a multidisciplinary approach merging design, architecture, sculpture and scenography, “Floating objects don’t have meaning or a function. They are just shape, materiality, colour.”
Above Gucci Cub3d
Gucci Cub3d
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On the talks of Santomà’s style and visual approach, he added a pair of Gucci Cub3d, a limited-edition sneaker curated from the combination of 3D-printed elements and the House’s own Demetra material, in one of the store’s windows. It floats and rotates on its magnetic installation, a mesmerising sight and a testament to the Spanish architect’s genius.
“Through Design Ancora, Gucci doesn’t simply celebrate old icons, it creates new ones,” Pelizzari explains. The luxury brand stays true to its mission, “to redefine luxury while celebrating creativity, Italian craftsmanship and innovation”.
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Images: Courtesy of Gucci
