Gucci Bamboo Encounters, curated by Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli for Fuorisalone, avoids manufacturing commodities, states the curator.
Gucci Embraces Bamboo in Innovative Design Exhibition
During Milan Design Week 2025, luxury fashion house Gucci showcased their commitment to sustainability and modern aesthetics with the Gucci Bamboo Encounters exhibition at the 16th-century Chiostri di San Simpliciano in Milan's Brera neighbourhood. This groundbreaking event, a collaboration between Gucci and Milan-based interdisciplinary studio 2050, presented bamboo as both a material and conceptual element, reflecting Gucci’s dedication to environmental consciousness and a fusion of craftsmanship and contemporary design.
The exhibition was divided into two halves: a vast platform for displaying objects in a gallery-like setting, and a dense bamboo grove. Seven international artists and designers, hailing from Sweden, Chile, London, Rotterdam, Netherlands, Korea, Italy, and France, were invited to participate. Each was asked to respond to bamboo in an open-ended brief, focusing on its cultural significance and epistemologies across multiple geographies.
One of the standout pieces was created by artist Lee, who undertook a casting of bamboo in aluminium. Another captivating installation was by the artist known as She, who collaborated with artisans in the West Bank in Palestine to create everyday objects using bamboo and glass, changing their function and adding a layer of meaning from Palestine’s historical context. The Kite Club also contributed to the exhibition with a series of kites featuring bamboo motifs, thanking the material for its role in kite flying.
The Back Studio created an object that mimics the growth rate of bamboo, growing about 0.6 millimetres every 15 minutes. Du Pasquier used the bamboo screen as a medium for her distinct graphic paintings. Srouji intertwined found bamboo objects with balloon-like glass adornments, hand-blown in Palestine.
The visual identity and curatorial choices underscored Gucci's interest in ecological mindfulness, material storytelling, and spatial experience—making bamboo a central motif to explore themes of regeneration, resilience, and refined craftsmanship within the luxury context. The exhibition signified an innovative engagement with natural materials and sustainability within luxury design, transcending cultural and geographical divisions to create a universal and forward-looking design language.
Bamboo has been linked to Gucci since the 1940s, with the launch of the iconic bamboo-handled bag in 1947. Today, the use of bamboo has become a code for Gucci, appearing in patterns on clothes, jewellery, and home design. The Gucci Bamboo Encounters exhibition represents sustainability and ecological focus in luxury design, material innovation and craftsmanship, a conceptual approach transcending cultural/geographical divisions, and a curated spatial experience developed by 2050+, emphasizing bamboo as a medium to engage visitors in a meaningful encounter.
This aligns with the broader fashion and design industry's push towards sustainability and deepening the narrative potential of natural materials. The Gucci Bamboo Encounters exhibition is a testament to Gucci's commitment to exploring the intersection of nature, design, and sustainability, and their continued leadership in the fashion and design industry. For those interested in attending accompanying talks, bookings can be made here.
- The Gucci Bamboo Encounters exhibition, during Milan Design Week 2025, not only showcased bamboo as a material but also delved into its cultural significance in multiple contexts, demonstrating Gucci's dedication to sustainability and fusion of fashion-and-beauty and home-and-garden design.
- Beyond the fashion-and-beauty realm, the Gucci Bamboo Encounters exhibition also offered a spatial experience that transcended cultural and geographical divisions, reflecting a lifestyle centered on ecological mindfulness and material storytelling.
