If fashion in 2025 and 2026 is about rewriting the rules and reclaiming individuality, Gucci’s return to Florence for its Cruise show couldn’t have been more on cue.
Hosted at the 15th-century Palazzo Settimanni, the creative and archival heart of the brand, the show marked a homecoming steeped in sentiment yet sharpened with intent. This wasn’t nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. It was a return to Gucci’s roots, filtered through a modern lens of tactile maximalism and reimagined luxury.
A Material World
Florence, long synonymous with sartorial craftsmanship, came alive on the runway. Brocades shimmered. Velvet was slashed and sculpted. Lace dripped in crystal strass. Silhouettes swung from exaggerated and sharp-shouldered to fluid and elongated, straddling the day-to-night divide with Gucci’s signature ‘sprezzatura’.
Rather than resting on house codes, the collection revived them. The GG monogram threaded quietly through the looks; the single G was re-stamped across belt buckles and heels. Leather goods—the soul of Gucci’s Florentine beginnings—appeared with fresh softness and ease. The new Giglio bag, named after the city’s symbolic lily, nodded to local pride without screaming it. Consider it the It-bag of the season, already available for those who can’t wait.
The New Wave Of Opulence
Cruise 2026 reaffirmed a move away quiet luxury. It was about considered flamboyance, maximalism with restraint and a layering of craft and heritage. This was a sentiment echoed in the new high jewellery collection Monili, co-created with Pomellato. Leather, gold and pavé diamonds coexisted in delicate balance, with pieces lifted from Pomellato’s ‘80s archives and recontextualised for today.
Gucci isn’t chasing a trend cycle. It’s staging a cinematic return to character dressing—the kind that rewards emotion, detail and identity over algorithmic sameness.
A Finale That Felt Like A Beginning
In place of a traditional runway close, models poured into the street, blurring the line between show and city. It was a gesture as symbolic as it was stylish: Gucci, reabsorbed into Florence. The Florentine maison aknowledging, “Gucci is Florence, and Florence is Gucci.”
In an era craving authenticity, Gucc’s latest collection served as a love letter to legacy that managed to transcend time. Cruise 2026 was proof that fashion’s future may just be rooted in knowing exactly where you came from—and dressing like you never forgot it.
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