Gucci to show cruise collection in London in May

Gucci is heading for London again, having previously staged a runway show at Westminster Abbey in 2016. The Kering-owned Italian luxury label has decided to present its next cruise collection in Europe, after doing so in Seoul last year. Gucci will show its Spring 2025 pre-collection in London on May 13, at a venue that hasn’t yet been disclosed.

“The choice of venue pays tribute to Gucci’s profound connection to the British capital, intrinsically linked to the brand’s heritage, and offers new opportunities to delve into the integral role the city has played in shaping the brand’s narrative throughout its storied history,” said Gucci in a press release.

The label indicated that London played a key role in Gucci’s early years, as it was in this city that founder Guccio Gucci was inspired to set up his future maison. In 1897, he worked as porter and lift attendant at the Savoy Hotel, familiarising himself with the style and tastes of international elite travellers, especially in terms of luggage. Back in Italy, he founded his leather goods company in Florence in 1921, and later opened Gucci’s first store in the city’s via della Vigna Nuova.

The London show will unveil Creative Director’s Sabato De Sarno first cruise collection for Gucci. In May 2023, the label presented a cruise collection designed by its in-house design studio in the main courtyard of the Gyeongbokgung palace in Seoul. Alessandro Michele had chosen the 13th century citadel of Castel del Monte, in Andria, in Italy’s Apulia region, as the venue of his last cruise collection show for Gucci. A few years earlier, he too had opted for London, staging Gucci’s cruise collection show in the cloister of Westminster Abbey in 2016.