RED HOT

An inspiring design collection from Gucci interprets past icons through a contemporary lens

- LAURA MAY TODD

When Sabato De Sarno was appointed creative director of Gucci in 2023, he had wanted his inaugural runway show to take place on the historic cobblestoned streets of Milan’s Brera district. Those arrangements were dashed when a freak rainstorm forced the show indoors, but De Sarno has never tired of celebrating his passion for his adopted city and the timelessness of Italian style.

That sentiment was reconfirmed in the days leading up to Milan Design Week in April, when it was announced De Sarno would launch his first furniture collection for the brand. However, De Sarno, alongside the project’s curator, Michela Pelizzari, founder of creative agency PS, wouldn’t create a collection from scratch. Instead, they would reissue five 20th-century pieces by designers whose work helped make Milan the design capital it is today. ‘Design objects have always been a source of inspiration for me, especially when it comes to icons,’ says De Sarno of the decision to launch his first furniture collection with Gucci. ‘I have discovered them, observed them, collected them. I have explored their stories.’ Unveiled at Gucci’s Via Montenapoleone flagship store during Milan Design Week, the collection comprised five important pieces by Nanda Vigo, Gae Aulenti, Piero Castiglioni, Mario Bellini, Tobia Scarpa (see W*282) and Piero Portaluppi.