MILAN — Gucci is lifting the curtain on the location for its upcoming men’s and women’s show on May 16.
Creative director Alessandro Michele has chosen Castel Del Monte in the Italian region of Apulia as the venue for the show. As reported, Gucci in January revealed the upcoming event without disclosing the location.
The castle is striking with its unique geometric design and is protected as a World Heritage Site since 1996. It is managed by the Ministry of Culture — Regional Directorate of Puglia Museums. Continuing Gucci’s commitment to sustain, preserve and promote cultural and artistic heritage, the Italian luxury brand will support an enhancement project of the historical site.
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, King of Sicily, Germany, Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 as well as King of Jerusalem from 1225, was a patron of science and the arts, and commissioned the building of Castel del Monte around 1240.
The castle stands in Andria, 540 meters above sea level on a hill and the stunning location is in line with Michele’s fascination with historic places, which in this case blends elements from Northern Europe, the Islamic world and classical antiquity, representing a crossroads of different civilizations and religions.
While brands traditionally show their cruise or resort collections during the months of May and June, Michele in 2020 decided to abandon “the worn-out ritual of seasonalities and shows to regain a new cadence,” and to conceive new names for his collections. The name of the collection to be shown at Castel del Monte has not been revealed.
In July 2020, Michele showed Epilogue, a project that included a 12-hour livestream. In November 2020, Gucci presented the “Ouverture of Something That Never Ended” coed collection with a miniseries developed in collaboration with director Gus Van Sant. In April last year, the designer staged the Aria show, which celebrated the brand’s centenary and introduced the Balenciaga hacker project. This was followed in November by the Love Parade collection in Los Angeles, which paid tribute to Hollywood and the world of movies. After two years, Gucci returned to Milan in February as part of the official Fashion Week calendar.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Michele had selected unique locations for Gucci’s then-called cruise collections: Arles, at the Alyscamps Roman necropolis, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981 for the cruise 2019 show. Before that, the shows were held in other culturally significant locations, including New York’s Dia Art Foundation, Westminster Abbey’s cloisters in London, Palazzo Pitti’s Palatina Gallery in Florenceand the Capitoline Museums in Rome.
As travel restrictions ease, brands have returned to planning their cruise shows around the world. For example, Chanel will show in Monaco on May 5; Louis Vuitton on May 12 at the Salk Institute in San Diego; Dior is heading to the southern Spanish city of Seville on June 16, and Max Mara will travel to Lisbon on June 28.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
