Few luxury houses can celebrate a legacy as enduring or as celebrated as Gucci – and in honor of such, the house will present Gucci Cosmos, an exhibition displaying the brand’s most iconic designs across their 102-year history including everything from iconic florals to previously unseen pieces from the Gucci Archive. The result is a playful voyage through Gucci’s past, present and future for viewers who will be able to travel across eight distinct worlds, paying homage to every aspect of the brand’s heritage and history. 

Conceived and designed by renowned British contemporary artist Es Devlin and curated by eminent Italian fashion theorist and critic Maria Luisa Frisa, Gucci Cosmos offers an immersive experience that spirals backward and forwards through time, allowing visitors to disregard the rules of time and space for a viewing experience that transcends. 

“As a creative endeavor and expression of the times, the house and its history over the past century can be mapped through an ability to evolve and, more broadly, to expand on the mutability of our own consciousness and ability to make cognitive shifts,” shares Devlin on the exhibit. “Rather like a garment itself that is able to be changed and re-tailored, like a shed skin that constantly renews itself.”

Each of the eight worlds of the exhibit trace a different aspect of Gucci, beginning with the story of the ambitions of the House’s founding father Guccio Gucci in ‘Portals’, spanning across Gucci’s equestrian inspiration and icons in ‘Zoetrope’ and ‘Eden’ bringing to life the tale of Gucci’s love affair with florals. In the sharply contrasting ‘Two’, visitors leave the vibrancy of ‘Eden’ and face monumental white statues, symbolic of the House’s belief in unisex fashion. ‘Archivio’ explores Gucci’s most iconic bags (including the Bamboo 1947, the Jackie 1961, the Horsebit 1955, the Gucci Diana, and the Dionysus), while in juxtaposition the circular ‘Cabinet of Wonders’ explores wildly eclectic collections of garments, accessories and curios. And in ‘Carousel’, mannequins in color-arranged fashion glide smoothly by, showcasing looks from the 1970s to present day that establish entirely new connections. 

In addition to extensive collections of clothing and accessories on display, each world is complimented by carefully curated installations and evocations that draw on the subject material, as created by Devlin and Frisa. “This project was an extraordinary opportunity for me to traverse the universe of Gucci once again and tell its story through the ever-different lens of the clothes, objects, elements, people, and contexts that have made the House an iconic trailblazer within fashion and collective visual culture for over a century,” shares Frisa. “The Gucci Cosmos exhibition is an immersive experience in which the House’s origin story and its history are continuously put to the test by the imagination of the future.”

Gucci Cosmos fittingly culminates in its eighth world, ‘Duomo’, a spectacular homage to the city of Florence that has remained the House’s aesthetic and spiritual anchor for the past 102 years. The exhibit is an incarnation of the Gucci soul and a tribute to the House’s most iconic designs, symbols, and products, showcasing the exceptional talents of the designers and artisans who have created such pieces. From Gucci’s founding to today, the brand has remained the pinnacle of creativity and Italian craftsmanship, a global House committed to genuine luxury quality, iconic designs, and ideas that shape the future – and if anything can prove that, it is Gucci Cosmos. 

Gucci Cosmos opens at the West Bund Art Center, Shanghai, China, on 28 April 2023 and runs until 25 June. The exhibition will then tour the world.