For Milan Design Week 2021, Gucci opened a whimsical pop-up stationery store on Via Manzoni 19 to present its first Lifestyle collection.
Fashioned after the traditional Italian stationery shop and inspired by a cabinet of curiosities, the Gucci Cartoleria is a magical space befitting of Harry Potter, littered with haunted curios such as flying notebooks, self-playing chess sets, endless bookcases, and micro-apartments for mice with Gucci furnishings.
“When I was a child, going to the stationery store and finding pencils, pens, notebooks, games, meant bringing a dream into my daily routine,” says creative director Alessandro Michele. “They were fine, well-made objects that spoke of craftsmanship and that, though part of my everyday life, were able to give off a magical, mysterious and wonderful aura.”
To bring the Gucci Lifestyle collection to life, the Florentine House roped in Max Siedentopf, a familiar collaborator, to produce the campaign. Shot in Tuscany at Castello Sonnino, a 16th-century fortress built by the Medici family, the weird-and-wonderful imagery conveys bewitching, dream-like scenes where houses of cards are larger than life, pencils blossoms like flowers, and a game of backgammon is interrupted by a society of nails.
The actual Gucci Cartoleria may not be accessible to us now, but the collection is. See the eclectic range up close at Gucci Paragon, then pick up a few wonderful items for work, play and rest. Think notebook sheathed in printed canvas, a refillable pen housed in a Demetra case, graphite pencils, glass-domed paperweights, a handcrafted dice set, sleeping masks, pillow, and satin silk pyjamas.
(All images: Gucci)
This article first appeared on Prestige Online Singapore.
Crystal Lee
Managing Editor
Prestige Singapore's Managing Editor wonders if she's better with words or numbers. Some days she thinks she's terrible at both. But most of the time, she's pretty good at eating, drinking, admiring beautiful things, and exploring new worlds.