“For me, shopping isn’t simply about buying things. It is about establishing a connection with them, entering into a relationship.” This from Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, with regard to the launch of Vault, the brand’s online concept store that’s described as “a time machine, an archive, a library, a laboratory and a meeting place … showcasing restored and customised archive pieces alongside the creations of emerging designers through a poetic and coherent editorial format … released at regular intervals throughout the year in limited quantities, ensuring an ever-exclusive offering.”
vintage selection. Vault’s virtual shelves hold exquisite vintage, pre-owned Gucci pieces, handpicked by Michele and the House’s expert archivists and painstakingly reconditioned to the highest standard. Many of these are one-of-a-kind, including select items customised by the creative director himself. “When I find these objects, to me they are like relics; mutant relics. We cared for them and chose them because we heard the tone of their voice; we put them in this sort of display window and I also treated them with love because I looked at them all again, examined them, and they became wonders.” Each vintage article is numbered and delivered in its own unique “made-to-measure” packaging.
conversations. Inspired by the magnificent, multimedia concept stores from the 1990s, Vault is a repository that sells the creations of emerging talents from around the world, sometimes exclusive. Currently featured designers include Ahluwalia, Shanel Campbell, Stefan Cooke, Cormio, Charles de Vilmorin, JORDANLUCA, YUEQI QI, Rave Review, Gui Rosa, Bianca Saunders, Collina Strada, Boramy Viguier and Rui Zhou. This follows the arc of a trajectory that began in November 2020 when these talents presented their collections through a series of fashion films on the digital platform of GucciFest, sparking unique conversations that go beyond the walls of the Maison and challenging the conventions of fashion. As Vault evolves, it will encompass many different forms of collaboration, including a selection of items from other brands dear to Alessandro Michele, resulting in an offering that goes increasingly beyond the traditional.
editions. “I live because I breathe different energies. Fashion, today, needs oxygen from the outside,” affirms Michele. Versatile and multi-faceted, Vault’s creative idiom is nourished through diverse mediums: digital short stories or poems pay homage to the rare and the beautiful. Entertaining, subverting and surprising, each edition will embody the passion for experimentation, cross-fertilisation and creativity that lies at the core of Vault, pulling together divergent threads and exploring new ideas as it evolves to become a place to expect the unexpected.
Think of Vault as a space where diverse narratives take shape, at times drawing from the past, at times discoursing with the future, and always rooted firmly in the contemporary. It has a voice that reverberates in all directions, fostering an inspiring dialogue with those who enter it, forging an imaginative relationship that goes beyond the purely transactional. Welcome to Vault. —Vita Daily
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