Gucci opens state-of-the-art store on New Bond Street – WWD

LONDON — It’s the month of change for Gucci, inside and out.

The Italian luxury brand has opened the doors to its new boutique on London’s New Bond Street, replacing its previous location on the corner of Old Bond Street.

The store takes its cue from the Gucci Salon, celebrating the house’s craftsmanship and commitment to art.

The store is twice the size of the previous one, covering 15,000 square feet over five floors in a Grade II listed building that was founded in 1913 as an art gallery. The building is maintained by Historic England, a UK Government public body. Only minor restorations may be carried out with permission for painting, replacement of doors and windows and replacement of the roof.

The space is owned by Trophaeum Asset Management. Trophaeum bought the site in 2020 from a company controlled by banker Joseph Safra.

The former gallery space now showcases Gucci’s range of handbags, fine jewellery, women’s ready-to-wear and footwear against a backdrop of white columns and a chevron patterned dark wood floor.

A sweeping staircase leads to the lower floor, where menswear, watches and small leather goods are housed, while a mezzanine floor resembling a vintage railway train was specially installed for the Gucci Valigeria travel collection.

The Tudor Room is dedicated to Gucci’s past and displays a selection of suitcases and duffel bags from the brand’s archives in Florence, from the 1930s to the 1980s.

All eyes were on Gucci’s holdall this summer when Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner appeared at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships and walked onto center court with a bag featuring green and red web detailing, stitched to brown leather where the Straps are linked, his initials JS were marked. It was the first time a luxury bag had made a cameo appearance on the famous green lawn.

This is Gucci’s first European store with a dedicated salon space on the top floor reserved for VIPs and high-end clients by appointment only. The room changes with each appointment as it is adapted to the client’s taste.

Destination New Bond Street also offers a bespoke and bespoke service.

As well as being adjacent to other luxury fashion brands, the shop is also adjacent to London’s finest galleries, from Richard Green and Halcyon Gallery to Sotheby’s, all just a stone’s throw away.

Inside the store, artworks by Liliana Moro, Franco Mazzucchelli, Alighiero Boetti, Matilde Cassani, Jonny Niesche, Massimo Uberti, Joshua Woolford, Simon Callery and Tim Etchells are on display.

The works were selected by art consultant Truls Blaasmo to pay tribute to Italian art, as well as art forms such as geometry, primary colors, sculpture and text-based art.

The red artwork “1967” by Lucio Fontana will be on display in the salon space during Frieze Week in October and will remain there afterwards.

More artworks will be unveiled later in the year as the brand works to transform the store not only into a shopping destination, but also into a living space that tells the Gucci story in a museum-like way.

The store will follow LEED guidelines and implement green energy efficiency.

In April, Gucci opened its first salon in LA with a slew of dresses fresh off the red carpet.

There are nine salon concepts opening both permanently and temporarily in New York, Paris, Milan, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei and Tokyo, each with their own product and art curation.

Gucci’s focus on the wealthiest buyers is part of its turnaround strategy after sales fell 14 percent in the last three months of 2022, reflecting the COVID-19 lockdowns in China and a slacking demand for its fashions in the US is due

The Italian luxury brand is in a transition period and parted ways with its longtime creative director Alessandro Michele in November 2022. His successor Sabato De Sarno, previously a designer at Valentino, will present his first women’s collection on September 22 during Milan Fashion Week. This marks the start of a new phase for the brand, which will be further refreshed by a major management reshuffle announced in July.

The change in leadership means that longtime President and CEO Marco Bizzarri is leaving the brand after the Spring 2024 show in Milan. Jean-François Palus, Managing Director of the Kering Group, will succeed Bizzarri ad interim. François-Henri Pinault, Kering chairman and CEO, said in July that the group would begin searching for a permanent Gucci CEO in September or October and was open to candidates outside the luxury sector.

Sources in Milan continue to speculate that Francesca Bellettini will eventually be appointed head of Gucci, although according to Pinault, the president and CEO of Yves Saint Laurent has been appointed deputy CEO of Kering, in charge of brand development and will continue to lead the French Labels will take over, according to Pinault.

The Italian luxury brand also envisages the return of Alessio Vannetti as its new executive vice president and chief brand officer, starting Monday.

Vannetti, who was Gucci’s global communications director from 2015 to 2019, has been Valentino’s chief brand officer for the past three and a half years.

Back at Gucci, he takes over the responsibilities of Susan Chokachi, who is leaving the company after 25 years of service, most recently as Executive Vice President, Chief Brand and Client Officer.

Vannetti will lead Gucci’s brand and customer engagement team and will “oversee the company’s strategic brand and image direction, marketing, communications, metaverse and customer engagement efforts,” the fashion house said in a statement.