Demna, Gucci's artistic director, unveiled his first exhibition for the brand at Chiostro di San Simpliciano in Milan. Titled Gucci Memoria, the show features 12 monumental tapestries chronicling the house's history alongside canned cocktails dispensed from a vending machine. The installation opened amid Milan Design Week, drawing crowds with its playful nods to Italian style and Gucci's past.
Visitors to the Chiostro di San Simpliciano, a former convent in Milan's Brera district, encountered a jet-black pavilion resembling a monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Inside, a vending machine dispensed one of four canned cocktails—Drama Queen, Fashion Icon, Mega Pesantone, or Super Incazzata—inspired by archetypes from Demna's debut lookbook La Famiglia. The Fashion Icon cocktail combined mint-infused tequila, passion fruit cordial, and fresh lemon juice in a pink can. Demna was appointed artistic director at Gucci just over a year ago, following his runway debut with 3D-scanned Roman statues and diverse casting. The exhibition builds on that vision, set in a courtyard with a wildflower meadow of cosmos and red roses surrounding a trickling fountain. The highlight was 12 tapestries titled Gucci Memoria, hung along the arcade. They depicted scenes like Guccio Gucci offering a pomegranate at the Savoy Hotel, leather artisans near Florence's Duomo, feuding brothers echoing the 1980s family drama, Alessandro Michele on horseback with a dragon, and Demna himself finishing a red coat in a modern atelier. Crafted by Tessitura Grassi artisans near Bergamo using custom looms, the tapestries blend historical reverence with subversive wit. Demna attended the opening, surrounded by friends as guests spotted references. The show sparked debate, reflecting on Italian cultural heritage through Gucci's lens.