MILAN — Legend has it that Guccio Gucci was walking by the Arno river and, catching sight of bundles of bamboo shoots, he thought they could serve as an alternative given the scarcity of raw materials after World War II.
This led to several innovations by the founder of the brand, including the signature Gucci Bamboo 1947 bag. Now the company is taking part in Milan Design Week and Fourisalone 2025 through the exhibition “Gucci | Bamboo Encounters” that celebrates this legacy.
“This year is a fundamental one for the expression of Gucci’s identity through its codes, and the bamboo is one of the founding elements of its aesthetics, as is the horsebit, a fundamental symbol of the brand,” chief executive officer Stefano Cantino told WWD. “The bamboo is a material that is not only ornamental but it embodies the values of the brand and its resilience. It bends but does not break. Also it reflects Gucci’s creativity as it’s a material that offers endless opportunities for exploration and innovation.”
Gucci has adapted bamboo to different designs over the years and the exhibition explores the lasting impact of the material and how it continues to bridge past and present.
Curated and designed by 2050+ and its founder Ippolito Pestellini Laparelli, the exhibition is set in Milan’s Cloisters of San Simpliciano, which dates back to the fourth century. It’s located in the heart of the arty Brera district and is impressive with its monastic architecture, frescoed vaults, stone columns, arches and porticoes.
Gucci | Bamboo Encounters
Carmen Columbo/WWD
“We thought it was the perfect location because we think that this space offers a context that welcomes the pieces in a natural way,” said Cantino.
The exhibition presents a series of one-of-a-kind contributions by contemporary designers and artists from around the world, who were invited to reimagine the bamboo in bold and unexpected ways, experimenting with new techniques.
“With Ippolito, we selected artists who could freely reinterpret this material,” explained the executive. “We wanted to touch different forms of expression, different geographies and very different aesthetics.”
The exhibition follows the “Gucci Bamboo: Decoding an Icon” exhibit in Shanghai, which, as reported, was inaugurated on March 28 and traces the history, design evolution and cultural significance of the Bamboo 1947 bag, and also curated by interdisciplinary agency 2050+. The exhibit was expected to close on April 6, but it was so popular that its run was extended for another two weeks until April 20.
Asked to comment on these kinds of initiatives, Cantino said “the storytelling builds the identity, the reputation and the relevance of the brand.”
Staging “Gucci | Bamboo Encounters” during Milan Design Week “is a strong message, in terms of brand reputation. Gucci exists since 1921 and its identity deserves to be communicated. Reinterpreting its heritage is fundamental, without ever losing the value of the brand, and we will continue to work on this kind of communication over the next years. You can’t communicate the brand’s aesthetics only through fashion, this is true at all latitudes and even more so in China, this is fundamental,” Cantino said.
Gucci | Bamboo Encounters
Carmen Columbo/WWD
In the center of one of the main cloisters, 2050+ conceived a raised green platform and an arena for the public program with daily conversations, cloaked in a striking structure in bamboo and orange fabric canopies.
“We wanted to work with designers or artists who were not used to working with bamboo, that’s why it’s called Encounters,” said Pestellini Laparelli. “Through their vision and perspective, the material was reinvented, and it’s often absent as a plant but it is present as a sign, or a cultural and historical trace. This is a multidimensional project that is not connected solely to the plant or to the artisanal craft, but to the expanded imaginary, it’s contemporary and explorative.”
Nestled in a site-specific bamboo garden, Anton Alvarez, the Stockholm-based Swedish-Chilean artist known for his innovative approach to furniture and object-making, paid tribute to the bamboo’s natural shape with his sculpture “1802251226.”
“For me, the rapid growth of bamboo has been a core inspiration for this work created for Gucci,” said Alvarez. “It serves as a tribute to the essence of bamboo. I’m presenting an extruded bronze fountain that rises from the ground, reaching toward the sky, with water trickling along the sculpture’s winding form.” The bamboo grove will be returned to its original site in Turin, Italy when the exhibit ends.
London-based Palestinian architect, artist and researcher grounded in psycho-spatial practices Dima Srouji conceived “Hybrid Exhalations,” showcasing suspended and fluctuating preexisting bamboo baskets, incorporating the narrative of these objects with handblown glass additions.
Kite Club, a Dutch design collective made up of Bertjan Pot, Liesbeth Abbenes and Maurice Scheltens, presented “Thank you, Bamboo,” a series of kites made from contemporary materials and bamboo. Kite-flying machines they invented were also being tested during the preview visit.
Gucci | Bamboo Encounters
Carmen Columbo/WWD
In “Scaffolding,” Austrian designer Laurids Gallée reinterpreted the material through his resin design pieces. “Bamboo is obviously very beautiful — I love its strength, texture and the precision of its parallel lines. But beyond its aesthetic qualities, what fascinates me is how nature has ‘manufactured’ this near-perfect material,” said Gallée. “I think this very aspect, its simplicity and immediate usability, will become increasingly important in the future. Bamboo has been used for millennia as a low-tech construction material, but now, in contrast to objects that simply emerge from a printer, it has the potential to thrive as a more natural alternative.” The bamboo embossed inside appears as a negative.
Recontextualizing the theme with bamboo panels and silk fabrics, French artist and a founding member of the Memphis Group Nathalie Du Pasquier presented “Passavento.” “There is an emotion coming from the bamboo and printed silk combination. An emotion coming from the rough and rigid material of the structure(…)and the precious printed silk which is supposed to softly move in the air.”
Sisan Lee, a Seoul-based designer and artist, incorporated traditional Korean aesthetics and contemporary techniques in his “Engraved” aluminum creations, seats, shelves and wall decorations.
Lastly, the back studio, featuring duo Eugenio Rossi and Yaazd Contractor, who are based in Turin and Mumbai, illuminated the bamboo through a light installation, reflecting tradition and modernity with “bamboo assemblage n.1.”
“Gucci | Bamboo Encounters” runs from Tuesday through Sunday.
