In 2008 Creative Director Frida
Giannini conceived a brand new design for Gucci stores worldwide. Giannini’s
concept, which employs light and transparency to spectacular effects, is a
grand departure from codified retail spaces and paves the way for Gucci’s 21st
century modern look.
Though each store offers its own
impressive and distinctive features such as a free floating stair case
in New York or a golden glass façade in Shanghai, all of these stores
adhere to a new
aesthetic which prioritizes natural light and warm materials. Indeed
natural
light pours through the spaces and allows views
both inside and out.
Frida Giannini Store Concept
Historic Gucci materials such as
dark rosewood and marble remain lynchpins in the design, playing off the modern
context. An array of new materials such as ribbed glass, warm polished gold,
smoked mirror and smoked glass, recall the elegance and richness of the Art
Deco era and also afford the interiors incredible warmth and a striking graphic
quality, in synch with Giannini’s ready to wear designs. Walls, covered in both
bronze glass and bronze mirror, contribute to the warmth and richness of the
environment, while the Gucci crest has
been resurrected as a recurring visual symbol.
“I wanted to amplify the luxuriousness of the Gucci stores’ environments” explains Giannini. “The principle goal of the new concept was to bring light into the interiors of our stores. Each city has its own specifications and unique flavour , but they all retain a heightened sense of luxury and intimacy.”
“I wanted to amplify the luxuriousness of the Gucci stores’ environments” explains Giannini. “The principle goal of the new concept was to bring light into the interiors of our stores. Each city has its own specifications and unique flavour , but they all retain a heightened sense of luxury and intimacy.”
