MORE DETAILS: Gucci will on Thursday reveal that the brand’s cruise 2025 show will be presented at the Tate Modern in London on May 13. In February, Gucci revealed that London was the selected city for the show, without providing details about the location.
This will be creative director Sabato De Sarno’s first cruise collection, after taking the helm of the luxury brand in January last year.
“Tate Modern stands as a hub of creativity and dialogue, where diverse perspectives converge to spark meaningful conversations and foster cultural exchange,” Gucci said in a statement. “Here, the interplay of art and architecture creates an environment that inspires innovation and challenges boundaries, much like the city itself. Inspired by multiple journeys to London over time, where he immersed himself in the city’s diverse cultures, Sabato De Sarno seeks to capture the essence of London’s spirit — a coming together of ideas, styles and personalities, defined by contrasts that spark creativity.”
Gucci’s connection to London runs deep, as the brand’s history is linked to founder Guccio Gucci, who in 1897 was a luggage porter and lift boy at London hotel The Savoy. Observing the guests’ luggage, he was inspired to start creating his own line of luxury suitcases and bags, founding his namesake house in Florence in 1921 and setting up the first Gucci store in the Italian city’s Via della Vigna Nuova.
In alignment with Gucci’s longstanding commitment to champion culturally significant locations and their communities, the house will support the “Electric Dreams” exhibition at Tate Modern, which opens this fall, in addition to a three-year partnership fostering the museum’s work with young creatives. “Embracing a shared commitment to inclusivity and empowerment, Gucci and Tate aim to encourage positive exchanges within communities, and inspire creativity across diverse audiences,” the company stated.
Last year, Gucci staged its cruise 2024 show at the Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul on May 16, marking the brand’s 25 years in the country. That collection was designed by an in-house team, following the exit of the previous creative director Alessandro Michele in November 2022.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Michele had selected unique locations for Gucci’s then-called cruise collections: Arles, France, 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 Florence and the Capitoline Museums in Rome. Gucci committed to preserve these storied sites.
Among other cruise shows, Chanel plans to present its 2025 line in the port city of Marseille on May 2. Louis Vuitton has scheduled its cruise show in Barcelona on May 23, and Dior has revealed its show in Scotland will take place on June 3. Max Mara is planning to present its resort 2025 collection with a fashion show in Venice on June 11.