Gucci Cosmos: Inside Gucci’s New Exhibition In Shanghai Celebrating The House’s Iconic History

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gucci

The Gucci universe officially comes to life with the new opening of the Italian fashion House’s new exhibition, Gucci Cosmos, in Shanghai. Giving the ultimate nod to the House’s most iconic designs, spanning across its 102-year history, the exhibition takes guests on an immersive journey that spirals both backward and forwards, revealing Gucci’s past, present, and future in design.

The exhibition also serves as a love letter to Gucci’s Florentine heritage as well as its ability to evolve into the modern world – and beyond. Each era has played an integral role within the House’s design DNA, and Gucci Cosmos showcases how his progressive belief in the power of creativity, anchored in the finest Italian craftsmanship and tradition, has seen Gucci not only mirror the times but also define them – in doing so, advancing society and its aesthetic tastes. 

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gucci

Conceived and designed by renowned British contemporary artist Es Devlin and curated by eminent Italian fashion theorist and critic Maria Luisa Frisa, Gucci Cosmos immerses the guests into the Gucci universe, experienced across eight exhibition worlds: Portals, Zoetrope, Eden, Two, Archivo, Cabinet of Wonders, Carousel, and Duomo — revealing both iconic pieces and archival pieces that have yet to be seen.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gucci

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gucci

“This project was an extraordinary opportunity for me to traverse the universe of Gucci once again and tell its story through the ever-different lens of the clothes, objects, elements, people, and contexts that have made the House an iconic trailblazer within fashion and collective visual culture for over a century. The Gucci Cosmos exhibition is an immersive experience in which the House’s origin story and its history are continuously put to the test by the imagination of the future,” reveals Frisa.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gucci

Each world defines a different aspect of Gucci, revealing the brand’s unwavering principles since its birth and the creativity behind the founder Guccio Gucci and the pioneering spirit of his sons Aldo and Rodolfo, as well as the wildly imaginative powers of more recent creative directors Tom Ford, Frida Giannini, and Alessandro Michele. 

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Gucci

“As a creative endeavor and expression of the times, the House and its history over the past century can be mapped through an ability to evolve and, more broadly, to expand on the mutability of our own consciousness and ability to make cognitive shifts. Rather like a garment itself that is able to be changed and re-tailored, like a shed skin that constantly renews itself,” notes Devlin. 

Serving as the ultimate symbol of the timelessness that lives within the House of Gucci. the exhibition is a visual metaphor of orbits with the cosmos — transcending both time and fashion.

Gucci Cosmos is now open at the West Bund Art Center, Shanghai, China until June 25th. The exhibition will then tour the world.